Just over 15,000 new electric vehicles have been sold so far this year, down over 25% on the same period last year.
The latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) reveal that 1,259 new EVs were registered last month, down over 29% on August last year.
The Volkswagen ID.4 has been the top selling new EV model so far this year, followed by the Tesla Model 3, the Tesla Model Y, the Hyundai Kona and the Kia EV6.
SIMI has called on the Government to prioritise support for EVs in Budget 2025.
"Government incentives to date have been fundamental to the EV transition, but they have to be continued and enhanced," said Brian Cooke, Director General of SIMI.
"SIMI is urging the Government to extend the Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) incentive at current levels, which will help transition the business fleet faster and support the development of a used EV market; increase SEAI Grants back to 2022 levels until the EV market recovers; and accelerate the roll out of a fit for purpose national charging infrastructure," he added.
Following the publication of today's data, David Savage, Geotab Vice President, EMEA said he believes the goal of 945,000 zero-emission vehicles on Irish roads by 2030 is highly unlikely.
"We need to look at why Ireland is selling fewer EVs every month, when countries like France, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and the UK are all seeing growth," he said.
"We can't simply blame this on the public perception of EVs, when people are voting with their wallets and driving off the forecourt in zero-emission vehicles in other countries.
"Budget 2025 represents a reset moment for the Irish EV industry and many stakeholders have made a variety of recommendations that could potentially boost the market," he added.
Today's SIMI data shows that a total of 112,171 new cars were sold in the first eight months of the year, down 0.9% on the same time last year.
New car registrations for August were down over 8% year-on-year, marking the sixth month in a row of declines.
Petrol cars continue to lead the new car market at over 31%, followed by diesel at 23%.
Hybrid petrol electric cars have a market share of almost 21%, electric at 13.4%, and plug in electric hybrid at 9.5%.
The Hyundai Tucson has been the top selling new car model so far this year, followed by the Skoda Octavia, the Kia Sportage, the Toyota RAV 4 and the Toyota Yaris Cross.
