New figures from the Central Statistics Office show an 8% increase in the number of new private electric cars licensed for the first time in February, with the figure rising to 3,074 from 2,853 the same month in 2025.
The CSO said this means the share of electric vehicles (EVs) among new private cars from January to February was 22% compared with 17% during the same time in 2025.
The CSO also reported growth in the licensing of hybrid vehicles which were up 21% from 3,289 to 3,985 in February this year.
Today's figures show the number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed in February was comparable with the same time last year, showing a small rise of 10 vehicles to 2,189 from 2,179. There was also a slight increase in the year-to-date share of PHEVs among new cars going from 15% in 2025 to 16% in 2026.
The CSO noted that the combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed from January to February fell compared with 2025, falling from a rate of 42% to 31%.
Meanwhile, the overall number of new private cars licensed in February fell by 5% to 13,660 from 14,394 compared with February 2025.
But the number of used (imported) cars licensed jumped by 40% in February of this year from the same month last year - rising to 7,654 from 5,454.
The CSO also said that the number of new goods vehicles rose by 11% to 3,466 from 3,116 in February of last year.
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The CSO said that Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in February at 2,008 vehicles, followed by Kia (1,324), Volkswagen (1,313), Hyundai (1,260), and Skoda (972).
Together, these five makes represented 50% of all new private cars licensed last month, the CSO noted.
The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in February 2026 was the Volkswagen ID.4 (275), followed by the Toyota BZ4X (166) and the Kia EV 3, it added.
