Just over 2,500 new electric vehicles were sold in March, up almost 30% on the same month last year.
New data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) reveals that just under 10,000 new EVs have been registered so far this year, up over 25% on the first three months of 2024.
Overall, 17,345 new cars were registered in March, up over 18%.
Petrol cars continue to lead the new car market at almost 28%, followed by Hybrid Petrol Electric at 24%, Diesel at 17%, Electric at 15% and Plug-in Electric Hybrid at 14%.
"In addition to the positive news on EVs, the market performance has been driven by an increase in the sales of hybrid cars, which when combined with EVs account for 55% of the market," said Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General.
"On the other hand, Light Commercial Vehicle registrations have seen another month of decline with a 13% decrease in LCV sales this quarter and Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) registrations are down 6% year to date. This decline in commercial registrations highlights the current uncertain economic climate," he added.
Toyota was the top selling new car brand, followed by Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda and Kia.
The top new car models were the Hyundai Tucson, the Toyota Yaris Cross, the Toyota RAV 4, the Kia Sportage and the Skoda Octavia.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen was the top selling EV brand for new car buyers, followed by Kia, Hyundai, Tesla and Nissan.
The top selling EV models were the Volkswagen ID.4, the Tesla Model 3, the Kia EV3, the Kia EV6 and the Hyundai Kona.
