New figures from the Central Statistics Office show a 25% decrease in the number of electric cars licensed for the first time in the first nine months of this year.
The CSO said that 15,460 new electric cars were licensed in the nine month period compared with 20,517 the same time last year.
But it noted growth in the licensing of petrol and electric hybrid vehicles with the number of these vehicles increasing by 31% from 17,228 in the first nine months of 2023 to 22,604 during the same time this year.
The CSO said that 34,779 new cars licensed in the first nine months of the year were petrol compared with 36,407 in the same period of 2023, a fall of 4%, while the number of new diesel cars licensed rose by 5% from 24,058 to 25,221.
Today's CSO figures show the total number of new private cars licensed in the first nine months of 2024 rose slightly in comparison to the same time in 2023, rising to 109,621 from 109,482.
Meanwhile, the number of used (imported) cars licensed increased by 27% to 47,554 from 37,591 over the same period.
For September, the number of new private cars licensed for the first time slowed down by 11% from 6,882 to 6,110 compared to September last year.
The CSO said that Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in September 2024, followed by Skoda, Volkswagen, Kia and Hyundai. Together, these five makes represented 53% of all new private cars licensed in September.
Meanwhile, the most popular brand of new electric car licensed in September was Tesla Model 3, followed by Volkswagen ID.4 and Tesla Model Y.
Commenting on today's CSO figures, Phil Barnes, Geotab Business Development Manager Ireland & UK, said the country is at the point where mathematically it is impossible to reach its target of having 945,000 EVs on the road by 2030, as essentially the entire market would have to switch to electric overnight for any chance of achieving the goal.
"While there were some positives in Budget 2025 with changes in VRT categorisation for electric light commercial vehicles, as well as BIK benefits in terms of company cars and the installation of home chargers, there was no real incentive to sway the general public," Mr Barnes said.
"Given that the passenger car market is the primary driver for EV sales, it seems like a missed opportunity," he added.
