New figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show that the new electric vehicle market experienced another month of decline in registrations in September - marking the eighth consecutive month of this trend.
Today's SIMI figures show that a total of 1,010 new electric cars were registered last month, a decrease of 30.8% on the 1,460 registrations in September of last year.
So far this year, 16,133 new electric cars have been registered, down 25.7% compared to the same time in 2023 when 21,726 electric cars were registered.
Today's SIMI figures also show that new car registrations for September were down 10.3% to 5,137 from a figure of 5,727 the same time last year.
Registrations year to date are down 1.4% to 117,264 on the 118,926 registrations the same time last year.
But imported, used cars have seen a 18.2% increase in September, rising to 5,116 from 4,328 the same month last year. Year to date imports are up 24.5% to 47,738 from the figure of 38,338 the same time last year.
SIMI noted that petrol cars continue to lead the new car market at 30.99%, followed by diesel at 22.98%, then Hybrid (Petrol Electric) at 21%, Electric at 13.76% and Plug-In Electric Hybrid at 9.71%.
Today's figures also show that five top selling new car brands so far this year are Toyota, Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai and Kia.
The five top new car models were the Hyundai Tucson, the Skoda Octavia, the Kia Sportage, the Toyota Rav 4 and the Toyota Yaris Cross.
Meanwhile the top selling car in September was the Skoda Kodiaq.
Commenting on today's figures, Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General, said it is vital the industry sees positive measures from Government in today's Budget to support the EV project and help reverse the drop in demand for EVs.
"Reinstating and extending EV supports, as well as investing in a reliable charging infrastructure, can help regain lost momentum in the electric vehicle project. The industry remains committed to supporting the transition to electrification," Mr Cooke added.
