New electric cars licensed last year up 36% on 2024 – CSO – RTE.ie
New figures from the Central Statistics Office today show a 36% increase in the number of new private electric cars licensed for the first time in 2025, with the number rising to 23,398 from 17,191 in 2024.
This means the share of electric vehicles among new private cars last year was 19% compared with 15% in 2024.
The CSO said the yearly increase is despite a fall of 35% in the number of new private EVs licensed in December last year when compared with December 2024 (264 compared to 405).
Today’s figures show an increase in the licensing of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) which were up 28% from 78 in December 2024 to 100 new private cars in December 2025.
On an annual basis, the CSO recorded a rise of 65% in the number of PHEVs licensed for the first time in 2025 compared with 2024 – 18,237 cars compared to 11,060.
Meanwhile, the number of new private cars licensed in December 2025 fell by 20% when compared with December 2024, with the number of cars falling to 838 from 1,044.
The total number of used (imported) private cars licensed in December rose by 49% compared with the same month in 2024, rising to 5,508 from 3,706.
The CSO said 31,221 new petrol cars were licensed last year compared with 36,433 in 2024, a fall of 14%. The number of new diesel cars licensed decreased by 23% to 20,562 from 26,728 over the same period.
The total number of used (imported) private cars licensed in December 2025 rose by 49% compared with the same period in 2024, increasing to 5,508 from 3,706.
Today’s CSO figures also show that Tesla was the most popular make of new private car licensed in December at 175 vehicles, followed by Volkswagen (101), Toyota (60), Audi (55), and Skoda (52). Together, these five makes represented 53% of all new private cars licensed in December.
Overall, Toyota was the most popular make of new private cars licensed in 2025, the figures also reveal, while the most popular brand of new electric car licensed last year was the Volkswagen ID.4.
The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in December was the Tesla Model 3, followed by the Tesla Model Y.
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