New figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show a 73% jump in the registration of new electric cars in September.
SIMI said a total of 1,737 new electric cars (battery electric cars) were registered - 73.2% higher than the 1,003 registrations the same month last year.
So far this year, a total of 22,382 new electric cars have been registered, which marks a 38.8% increase compared to the same time in 2024 when 16,125 electric cars were registered.
Overall new car registrations for September were up 9.8% to 5,629 from 5,126 the same time last year. Registrations year to date are up 3.7% to 121,693 from 117,355 in 2024.
SIMI also said that imported used cars registered a 36.8% increase in September, rising to 7,000 from 5,116 in September last year. Year to date imports are up 12.4% to 53,662 from 47,737 in 2024.
Petrol cars continue as the new car market leader at 25.41%, followed by hybrid (petrol electric) at 22.62%, electric at 18.39%, diesel at 17.15% and plug-in electric hybrid at 14.82%.
The top selling new car in September was the Toyota Corolla Cross, today's figures show.
They also reveal that the five top selling new car brands were Toyota, Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai and Kia.
The five top new car models were the Hyundai Tucson, the Skoda Octavia, the Kia Sportage, the Toyota Yaris Cross and the Toyota Rav 4.
Meanwhile the five top selling new electric car brands were Volkswagen, Kia, Hyundai, Tesla and Skoda.
The top selling new electric car in September was the Tesla Model 3.
The five top selling new EV models were the Volkswagen ID4, the Tesla Model 3, the Kia EV3, the Tesla Model Y and the Kia EV.
Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General, noted that EV sales have increased this year in every county.
"With Budget 2026 imminent, it is imperative that the State continues to support the BEV market if we want to build on this momentum," he said.
"The current incentives (the SEAI Grant, Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) relief, and 0% Benefit-In-Kind (BIK) threshold) must be extended beyond the end of 2025 to provide certainty to motorists, businesses, and the industry," Mr Cooke said.
"The growth of the new EV market is also essential in generating the used EV market supply. EV adoption remains a critical part of our climate change goals, and incentives that may be a cost now will result in being a cost-saving in the future," he said.
"Incentives are not an option; they are a necessity," he stressed.
