New figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that a total of 7,319 new electric cars were registered in January, a jump of 48.7% on the same time last year and the highest number of electric car registrations to date.
SIMI said that that EVs' market share accounted for nearly two-thirds of new car sales in January, with the combined market share of traditional petrol and diesel cars falling to 33%.
Hybrid-electric vehicles are the most popular engine choice, taking the position as market leader for the first time, it added.
Today's figures show that new car registrations for January were up 3.3% to 34,604 from 33,499 in January of last year.
Light Commercial Vehicles increased by 21.6% to 7,579, while Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) registrations are down 16.6% from last year.
Meanwhile, imported used cars posted a 43.5% surge in January, rising to 8,041 from 5,604 in January 2024.
SIMI said the top selling new car in January was the Toyota Yaris Cross, while the top selling new electric car was the Volkswagen ID.4.
Today's figures show that the ten top selling new car brands last month were Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Skoda, Kia, Peugeot, Ford, Audi, Dacia and Renault.
The top ten new car models in January were the Toyota Yaris Cross, the Hyundai Tucson, the Kia Sportage, the Toyota Corolla Cross, the Toyota Corolla, the Hyundai Kona, the Skoda Octavia, the Skoda Kodiaq, the Volkswagen ID.4 and the Volkswagen Tiguan.
Meanwhile, the top ten selling new EV models were the Volkswagen ID.4, the Hyundai Inster, the Kia EV3, the Hyundai Kona, the Hyundai Ioniq, the Toyota BZ4X, the BYD Sealion7, the Skoda Elroq, the MG MGS5 and the Ford Explorer.
And the three top selling new car colours were grey, black and blue.
Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General, said that 2026 has started promisingly for the new car market, with battery technology cars (BEV, PHEV, HEV) seeing significant growth.
"Their market share accounted for nearly two-thirds of new car sales in January, with the combined market share of traditional petrol and diesel cars falling to 33%. Hybrid-electric vehicles are the most popular engine choice, taking the position as market leader for the first time," Mr Cooke said.
He noted that the momentum in Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) sales from last year has carried over into January 2026.
"BEV sales rose significantly in January with 7,319 units registered compared to 4,923 units last year, the highest monthly volume to date. Over one in five new cars registered in January were fully electric vehicles," he said.
"Private consumers accounted for 75% of BEV sales, an 11% increase on last year. Government incentives, expanding EV model choices, and a greater range of price points are all helping consumers make the switch. If we want this emerging market to continue to expand, focus on infrastructure and Government supports will be key," he added.
