Electric Vehicles Overtake Petrol and Diesel in Ireland for the First Time as January Sales Soar Nearly 50%
Ireland’s automotive market has entered uncharted territory. For the first time in the country’s motoring history, fully electric cars have surpassed both petrol and diesel vehicles in market share, signalling a seismic shift in how Irish consumers are choosing their next set of wheels. Fresh data published by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) shows that 7,319 brand-new battery electric vehicles were registered during January 2026 – a remarkable 48.7% leap compared to the 4,923 units sold in the same month a year earlier. This represents the highest single-month volume of electric car registrations Ireland has ever recorded, and it means that more than one in every five new cars registered last month was fully electric.
The broader picture is equally striking. The combined market share of traditional petrol and diesel cars has now shrunk to just 33%, a figure that would have seemed inconceivable barely a decade ago. Before the 2015 “dieselgate” emissions scandal sent shockwaves through the global automotive industry, fully three-quarters of all new vehicles sold in Ireland ran on diesel. Today, electrified powertrains – encompassing battery electric vehicles, conventional hybrids, and plug-in hybrids – account for nearly two-thirds of all new car sales. Hybrid-electric vehicles have collectively claimed the position of the most popular powertrain choice for the very first time, overtaking every other category.
Overall, the new car market posted a healthy 3.3% increase in January, with 34,604 vehicles registered compared to 33,499 during the same period last year. SIMI Director Brian Cooke attributed the momentum in EV sales to a combination of factors: sustained government incentives, a rapidly expanding range of electric models available to consumers, and the growing availability of EVs at a wider variety of price points. He noted that private buyers accounted for 75% of all battery electric vehicle sales in January, an 11% increase over the previous year – a clear sign that electric motoring is moving decisively beyond the corporate fleet market and into the driveways of everyday Irish households.
The battle for the title of Ireland’s best-selling car in January came down to the final day of the month. Toyota’s popular Yaris Cross compact crossover ultimately clinched the top spot with 1,148 registrations, narrowly overtaking the Hyundai Tucson, which finished with 1,446 registrations across all its powertrain variants. The Kia Sportage completed the podium with 1,133 units. The dominance of compact crossovers at the top of the sales charts reflects a long-running consumer preference for vehicles that combine a practical, elevated driving position with manageable dimensions and efficient running costs. The ten best-selling brands overall were Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Skoda, Kia, Peugeot, Ford, Audi, Dacia, and Renault.
Ford enjoyed a particularly strong start to the year, registering 1,524 new vehicles – a 23% improvement over January 2025 – driven largely by enthusiasm for the recently launched Puma crossover. The plug-in hybrid segment also showed considerable energy, with Hyundai leading the way on 1,100 registrations, mostly thanks to the hugely popular Tucson PHEV, while BMW followed in second place with 584 units.
Within the electric car segment itself, the competitive landscape has been transformed almost beyond recognition. Hyundai topped the EV brand rankings with 1,086 registrations, followed by Volkswagen, Kia, the Chinese manufacturer BYD, Renault, and Skoda. The best-selling individual electric models were the Volkswagen ID.4, Hyundai Inster, Kia EV3, Hyundai Kona EV, and the Hyundai Ioniq 5. Meanwhile, Tesla – once the undisputed ruler of Ireland’s electric car market – has fallen dramatically to 14th place among EV brands, recording a mere 137 sales throughout the entire month. The American manufacturer’s decline is attributable to a potent combination of intensifying competition, a model range that some consumers perceive as ageing, and a service network that remains far thinner than those of established European and Asian rivals.
Chinese brands continued their rapid advance into the Irish market. BYD registered 1,029 vehicles across all powertrains in January, while fellow Chinese manufacturer MG contributed 633 sales. Their growing presence is adding significant competitive pressure across multiple segments, offering Irish buyers advanced technology and generous specification at price points that challenge established players.
Away from the new car market, used vehicle imports surged by 43.5% in January, with 8,041 pre-owned cars brought into the country compared to 5,604 a year earlier. Volkswagen dominated the used import rankings with 1,811 registrations, ahead of Audi on 1,092, Toyota on 959, and BMW on 944, with the Golf and Polo the most sought-after models. The majority of these imports were four years old or more, and Japan remained the primary source country, accounting for 58% of all used imports – a reflection of the high-quality, low-mileage vehicles available from the Japanese market, as well as the convenience of shared right-hand-drive configuration.
The commercial vehicle sector delivered a mixed report card. Light commercial vehicle registrations climbed 21.6% to 7,579 units, led by Ford with 1,338, Renault with 1,166, and Toyota with 1,093. Bus registrations soared 58% to 120 units, pointing toward continued investment in public transport infrastructure. However, the heavy goods vehicle segment moved in the opposite direction, with just 392 new truck registrations representing a 17% decline year-on-year – a potential indicator of caution among haulage operators amid broader economic uncertainty.
Taken together, the January figures paint a portrait of an Irish car market in the midst of a profound transformation. The electrification of personal transport is accelerating faster than many observers anticipated, traditional combustion engine vehicles are losing ground at a remarkable pace, and the competitive order among manufacturers is being rewritten in real time. Whether this momentum can be sustained throughout 2026 – and whether it will prove sufficient to meet the government’s revised target of approximately 600,000 electric vehicles on Irish roads by the end of the decade – remains to be seen. But January’s data leaves little doubt that the tipping point for electric motoring in Ireland has arrived.
