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CSO - Central Statistics Office Ireland

08/11/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/11/2026 04:09

Vehicles Licensed for the first time July 2026

Just over a quarter of new private cars licensed in the first seven months of 2026 were electric

Online ISSN: 2009-5678
CSO statistical release, 11 August 2026, 11am

Key Findings

  • The number of new private electric cars licensed in July 2026 rose by 82% when compared with July 2025 (7,216 vs 3,973). This means the share of electric vehicles (EVs) among new private cars from January to July 2026 was 26% compared with 17% in the same period of 2025.

  • The total number of new private cars licensed in July 2026 increased by 2% when compared with July 2025 (20,322 vs 19,923).

  • The number of used (imported) cars licensed grew by 28% in July 2026 when compared with July 2025 (8,508 vs 6,640). The share of electric vehicles (EVs) among used (imported) cars from January to July 2026 was 11% compared with 4% in the same period of 2025.

  • The number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) licensed in July 2026 decreased by 5% in comparison with July 2025 (2,926 vs 3,080). The year-to-date share of PHEVs in 2026 among new private cars was comparable with 2025 at 15%.

  • The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed from January to July 2026 was down in comparison with 2025 (33% vs 44%).

  • Overall, Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in July 2026, while the Volkswagen ID.4 was the most popular make of electric car.

  • The number of new goods vehicles was up 16% in July 2026 when compared with July 2025 (3,428 vs 2,945).

  • On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed were up 6% in July 2026 compared with June 2026. The number of seasonally adjusted used (imported) private cars licensed remained comparable over the same period.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (11 August 2026) published Vehicles Licensed for the First Time for July 2026.

Commenting on the data, Damien Lenihan, Statistician in the Transport Section of the CSO, said: "Today's figures from the CSO show an 82% growth in the number of new private electric cars (EVs) licensed for the first time in July 2026 (7,216) when compared with the same month in 2025 (3,973). Licensing of hybrid vehicles decreased by 3% from 4,598 in July 2025 to 4,469 new private cars in July 2026.

The total number of used (imported) private cars licensed in July 2026 rose by 28% compared with July 2025 (8,508 vs 6,640). There were 1,564 used (imported) diesel private cars licensed in July 2026, compared with 1,614 in the same period of 2025. Used (imported) private petrol cars licensed went up by 14% in July 2026 compared with July 2025 (3,200 vs 2,799).

In the first seven months of 2026, there was a 57% rise in new private EVs licensed when compared with the same period in 2025 (26,796 vs 17,075). We can also see that more than a quarter (26%) of all new private cars licensed between January and July 2026 were electric. Over the same seven-month period, there was a fall of 22% in the number of new petrol cars licensed (20,620 vs 26,454). Similarly, there was a 24% decrease in the number of new diesel cars licensed (12,687 vs 16,681).

The total number of new goods vehicles licensed for the first time in July 2026 was 3,428, up 16% on July 2025 (2,945). There were 22,905 new goods vehicles licensed from January to July 2026, which was an increase of 12% on the 20,364 licensed over the same period of 2025.

Most Popular Makes

Data also shows that Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in July 2026 at 2,733 vehicles, followed by Volkswagen (2,443), Skoda (1,973), Hyundai (1,869), and Kia (1,520). Together, these five makes represented 52% of all new private cars licensed in July 2026 (See Table 4).

The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in July 2026 was the Volkswagen ID.4 (464), followed by Hyundai Inster (279), and Toyota BZ4X (269) (See TEM28 for further information)."

Editor's Note

Registration and licensing figures may differ in a given month for a number of reasons, some of which are outlined below:

  • Vehicles registered in the latter part of a particular month may not be licensed until a later month because of the time lapse between registration and first licensing.
  • In some cases, a vehicle may be registered by a dealership in advance of a sale.
  • Registered vehicles which are not used in a public place (e.g. tractors for use exclusively on the land) may not need to be licensed.

Cars Licensed

Figure 1: Private Cars Licensed for the first time

© Central Statistics Office, Irelandhttps://data.cso.ie/table/TEM01

Table 1 Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation Class July January - July
2025 2026 Change 2025 2026 Change
New vehicles
New Private Cars 19,923 20,322 399 2% 97,884 101,466 3,582 4%
New Goods Vehicles 2,945 3,428 483 16% 20,364 22,905 2,541 12%
New Tractors 254 257 3 1% 1,658 1,932 274 17%
New Motor Cycles 383 364 -19 -5% 1,894 2,057 163 9%
New Exempt Vehicles 877 894 17 2% 4,542 4,608 66 1%
New Other 269 256 -13 -5% 1,981 1,849 -132 -7%
Total New Vehicles 24,651 25,521 870 4% 128,323 134,817 6,494 5%
Used (imported) vehicles
Used private cars 6,640 8,508 1,868 28% 39,967 54,110 14,143 35%
Used goods vehicles 1,201 1,004 -197 -16% 7,289 7,570 281 4%
Used tractors 269 256 -13 -5% 1,632 1,698 66 4%
Used motorcycles 311 330 19 6% 1,805 2,059 254 14%
Used other vehicles 700 768 68 10% 4,132 4,730 598 14%
Total used vehicles 9,121 10,866 1,745 19% 54,825 70,167 15,342 28%
Total all vehicles 33,772 36,387 2,615 8% 183,148 204,984 21,836 12%

Cars licensed by fuel type

Figure 2 In July 2026, 36% of all new private cars licensed were electric.

Figure 2: New private cars licensed by fuel type, February 2026 to July 2026

© Central Statistics Office, Irelandhttps://data.cso.ie/table/TEM12

Table 2 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by fuel type
Table 2 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by fuel type
July January - July
2025 2026 % change 2025-2026 2025 Share %1 2026 Share %1 %change 2025-2026
Fuel type New
Petrol 5,030 3,449 -31% 26,454 27% 20,620 20% -22%
Diesel 3,242 2,262 -30% 16,681 17% 12,687 13% -24%
Electric 3,973 7,216 82% 17,075 17% 26,796 26% 57%
PHEV2 3,080 2,926 -5% 14,677 15% 14,896 15% 1%
Hybrid 4,598 4,469 -3% 22,997 23% 26,467 26% 15%
Other 0 0 .. 0 0% 0 0% ..
Total 19,923 20,322 2% 97,884 100% 101,466 100% 4%
Used (imported)
Petrol 2,799 3,200 14% 17,137 43% 20,686 38% 21%
Diesel 1,614 1,564 -3% 10,301 26% 10,953 20% 6%
Electric 410 991 142% 1,689 4% 5,821 11% 245%
PHEV2 932 1,076 15% 5,548 14% 7,871 15% 42%
Hybrid 885 1,677 89% 5,291 13% 8,775 16% 66%
Other 0 0 .. 1 0% 4 0% 300%
Total 6,640 8,508 28% 39,967 100% 54,110 100% 35%
New and Used (imported)
Petrol 7,829 6,649 -15% 43,591 32% 41,306 27% -5%
Diesel 4,856 3,826 -21% 26,982 20% 23,640 15% -12%
Electric 4,383 8,207 87% 18,764 14% 32,617 21% 74%
PHEV2 4,012 4,002 0% 20,225 15% 22,767 15% 13%
Hybrid 5,483 6,146 12% 28,288 21% 35,242 23% 25%
Other 0 0 .. 1 0% 4 0% 300%
Total 26,563 28,830 9% 137,851 100% 155,576 100% 13%
1 Percentage share may not equal 100% due to rounding
2 Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle
.. Denotes percentage change not calculable

Fuel & Emissions Type

Table 3 Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type
Table 3 Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type
Band Petrol Diesel Electric Hybrid PHEV Other Total
July 2026
A 968 416 7,216 3,504 2,905 0 15,009
B 2,279 965 0 903 14 0 4,161
C 97 683 0 35 4 0 819
D 66 70 0 1 0 0 137
E 19 3 0 4 0 0 26
F 4 16 0 0 0 0 20
G 7 0 0 0 0 0 7
Not available 9 109 0 22 3 0 143
Total 3,449 2,262 7,216 4,469 2,926 0 20,322
January - July 2026
A 6,112 1,718 26,796 20,410 14,807 0 69,843
B 13,349 5,128 0 5,641 43 0 24,161
C 841 4,555 0 344 26 0 5,766
D 151 409 0 8 0 0 568
E 55 34 0 10 0 0 99
F 23 111 0 2 0 0 136
G 41 21 0 0 0 0 62
Not available 48 711 0 52 20 0 831
Total 20,620 12,687 26,796 26,467 14,896 0 101,466

Car Makes

Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Source: CSO Ireland13 %​Toyota​13 %​Toyota12 %Volkswagen12 %​Volkswag…​12 %Volkswagen12 %​Volkswag…10 %​Skoda​10 %​Skoda9 %​Hyundai​9 %​Hyundai7 %​Kia​7 %​Kia48 %​Other​48 %​OtherHighcharts.comFigure 3 Distribution of new car makes, July 2026
Created with Highcharts 9.3.3
Most popular makes of new cars, July 2026
Toyota 13
Volkswagen 12
Skoda 10
Hyundai 9
Kia 7
Other 48
Table 4 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, July 2026
Table 4 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, July 2026
Make July January - July
New Used (imported) Total New Used (imported) Total
Audi 751 921 1,672 3,921 6,476 10,397
BMW 792 978 1,770 3,858 6,626 10,484
BYD 847 38 885 3,455 121 3,576
Citroen 306 76 382 1,605 502 2,107
Cupra 268 14 282 1,752 87 1,839
Dacia 666 7 673 3,002 73 3,075
Fiat 38 59 97 184 346 530
Ford 627 244 871 3,545 1,764 5,309
Honda 125 458 583 379 2,663 3,042
Hyundai 1,869 174 2,043 8,711 1,062 9,773
Jaguar 0 12 12 0 86 86
Kia 1,520 86 1,606 7,685 608 8,293
Land Rover 89 124 213 568 900 1,468
Lexus 214 82 296 912 453 1,365
Mazda 147 109 256 767 609 1,376
Mercedes Benz 403 536 939 2,318 3,593 5,911
Mini 102 65 167 526 440 966
Mitsubishi 0 55 55 0 468 468
Nissan 437 280 717 3,127 1,737 4,864
Opel 465 2 467 2,548 5 2,553
Peugeot 546 245 791 3,179 1,579 4,758
Renault 803 102 905 3,526 690 4,216
Seat 195 33 228 1,617 258 1,875
Skoda 1,973 127 2,100 9,752 870 10,622
Ssangyong 0 0 0 31 5 36
Subaru 3 11 14 7 76 83
Suzuki 272 118 390 1,551 737 2,288
Tesla 256 37 293 1,999 370 2,369
Toyota 2,733 1,353 4,086 13,982 6,863 20,845
Vauxhall 0 61 61 0 442 442
Volkswagen 2,443 1,721 4,164 11,774 11,018 22,792
Volvo 361 229 590 1,663 1,697 3,360
Other 1,071 151 1,222 3,522 886 4,408
Total 20,322 8,508 28,830 101,466 54,110 155,576
Further details on makes are available in the following PxStat tables

New electric cars by make and model

Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Source: CSO Ireland4 %​Toyota​BZ4X​4 %​Toyota​BZ4X6 %​Volkswagen​ID.4​6 %​Volkswagen​ID.44 %​Hyundai​Kona​4 %​Hyundai​Kona79 %​Other​79 %​Other3 %​Toyota​C-HR​3 %​Toyota​C-HR4 %​Hyundai​Inster​4 %​Hyundai​InsterHighcharts.comFigure 4 Distribution of new electric car models, July 2026
Created with Highcharts 9.3.3
Most popular make of new electric model cars, July 2026
Toyota
BZ4X 		4
Volkswagen
ID.4 		6
Hyundai
Kona 		4
Other 79
Toyota
C-HR 		3
Hyundai
Inster 		4
Table 5 Top 20 new private cars licensed for the first time classified by fuel type and make and model, July 2026
Table 5 Top 20 new private cars licensed for the first time classified by fuel type and make and model, July 2026
Make and Model Petrol Diesel Hybrid Electric PHEV All fuel types
Toyota C-HR 0 0 223 242 78 543
Skoda Octavia 225 311 1 0 0 537
Hyundai Kona 75 0 199 256 0 530
Toyota Yaris Cross 0 0 509 0 0 509
Volkswagen Tiguan 0 283 0 0 203 486
Volkswagen ID.4 0 0 0 464 0 464
Toyota Corolla 0 0 443 0 0 443
Hyundai Tucson 0 81 17 0 302 400
Skoda Kodiaq 8 339 0 0 28 375
Volkswagen Golf 203 158 0 0 6 367
BYD Seal 0 0 0 68 255 323
Volkswagen T-Roc 289 8 0 0 0 297
Toyota Rav4 0 0 103 0 191 294
Toyota Corolla Cross 0 0 294 0 0 294
Kia Sportage 0 0 249 0 40 289
Toyota Yaris 0 0 288 0 0 288
Hyundai Inster 0 0 0 279 0 279
Toyota BZ4X 0 0 0 269 0 269
Volkswagen Polo 252 0 0 0 0 252
Skoda Elroq 0 0 0 238 0 238

Imported Cars

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Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Chart context menuSource: CSO Ireland<1 year old1-2 years old3-5 years old6-9 years oldOver 10 years oldHighcharts.comFigure 5 Percentage of imported private cars by age group and by year of registration licensed for the first time
2022
2023
2024
2025
Jan - July 2026
02550
%
X-axis label 2022 2023 2024 2025 Jan - July 2026
<1 year old 1 1 1 2 0
1-2 years old 7 9 8 8 11
3-5 years old 36 29 27 25 24
6-9 years old 42 42 42 39 35
Over 10 years old 14 19 23 26 30
Table 6 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time
Table 6 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time
Private cars 2022 2023 2024 2025 Jan-July 2026
New 101,349 117,424 116,683 120,797 101,466
Used (imported) 46,567 50,381 61,838 71,604 54,110
Total 147,916 167,805 178,521 192,401 155,576
% used (imported) 31% 30% 35% 37% 35%

Seasonally Adjusted Figures

Figure 6: Number of Seasonally adjusted, unadjusted, and trend in new private cars licensed for the first time

© Central Statistics Office, Irelandhttps://data.cso.ie/table/TEM21

Table 7 Seasonally adjusted number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Table 7 Seasonally adjusted number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation class July 2025 June 2026 July 2026 Monthly % change
New vehicles
New private cars 10,266 9,957 10,522 6%
New goods vehicles 2,603 2,725 2,976 9%
New tractors 209 215 210 -2%
New motor cycles 239 246 228 -7%
New exempt vehicles 515 639 546 -15%
New other 214 175 218 25%
Total new vehicles 14,046 13,957 14,700 5%
Used (imported) vehicles
Used private cars 6,022 7,700 7,725 0%
Used goods vehicles 1,179 993 983 -1%
Used tractors 247 238 232 -3%
Used motorcycles 255 248 269 8%
Used other vehicles 609 642 664 3%
Total used vehicles 8,312 9,821 9,873 1%
Total all vehicles 22,358 23,778 24,573 3%

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