New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the number of new private electric cars licensed in March rose by 39% compared to the same time last year - rising to 3,429 from 2,473.
The CSO said this means the share of electric vehicles among new private cars in the first three months of the year was 23% compared with 17% during the same time of 2025.
But it also said that the number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed in March fell by 7% in comparison with March 2025, falling to 2,049 from 2,202.
The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed from January to March this year fell to 33% from 43% the same time last year, it noted.
Today's CSO figures show that the overall number of new private cars licensed last month increased by 5%, rising to 15,130 from 14,388 the same month last year.
Meanwhile, the number of used (imported) cars licensed increased by 34% to 7,955 from 5,917.
The CSO also said the total number of new goods vehicles licensed for the first time in March reached 3,872, an increase of 19% on the figure of 3,264 in March last year.
The number of new goods vehicles licensed in the first three months of 2026 was 10,225, up 17% from 8,729 during the same time of 2025, it added.
The figures today also show that Volkswagen was the most popular make of new private car licensed in March at 1,966 vehicles, followed by Toyota (1,504), Skoda (1,436), Kia (1,031), and Nissan (928).
Together, these five makes represented 45% of all new private cars licensed during the month, the CSO added.
The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in March was the Tesla Model Y (249), followed by the Volkswagen ID.4 (230), and the Tesla Model 3 (217).
