Registrations of new cars in Ireland rose slightly in April, going up by 1.9 per cent to 8,731 vehicles. It means that new car sales (not quite the same as registrations, but linked of course) are holding pretty steady for the year so far, up by 3.4 per cent to 73,505 so far in 2025.
What about electric car sales?
That's a potentially more significant figure. Sales of EVs rose by 23.7 per cent in April, compared to the same month last year, with 1,343 registrations. It means that so far this year, 11,311 new electric cars have been registered, a growth of 25.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Does that mean we're finally starting to like EVs?
Quite possibly. The latest figures put electric cars at a 15.39 per cent market share, significantly up on 2024's figures. Petrol power still remains the market leader, on 27.68 per cent, with diesel at 17.36 per cent, but if you combined battery electric models with the 23.66 per cent held by hybrid models, and the 14.29 per cent held by plug-in hybrids, then you end up with 53.3 per cent of all cars registered in Ireland this year so far having a battery of some sort.
What are the best-selling models so far?
Almost predictably, the Hyundai Tucson remains the best-selling car in Ireland so far in 2025 - a position it's held almost unchallenged since 2016. In second place so far this year is the Toyota RAV4, followed by the Toyota Yaris Cross, the Kia Sportage, and the Skoda Octavia.
Equally unsurprisingly, Toyota remains the best-selling brand, followed by Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai, and Kia. The best selling electric car so far this year is the Volkswagen ID.4, followed by the Kia EV3, the Tesla Model 3, the Kia EV6, and the Hyundai Kona. The best-selling new car overall in April was the Toyota RAV4, and the best-selling EV in April was the Volkswagen ID.4.
What about the other figures?
There's good news in van sales - they were up by 15 per cent in April, which is a bit of a relief as the sales of vans are often seen as an important indicator of underlying economic performance. Overall, van sales are down by 9.5 per cent for the year to date, though. HGV sales were down 14 per cent in April, and are down by eight per cent for the year so far. Used car imports rose fractionally in April, by 0.8 per cent, and are up 7.5 per cent for the year to date at 22,237.
What's the industry saying about the latest figures?
Brian Cooke, Director General of the Society of the Irish Motoring Industry (SIMI), said: “April new car registrations saw a marginal rise of 1.9 per cent when compared to the same month last year. Year-to-date registrations increased by 3.4 per cent on last year, with a total of 73,505 new cars registered. New electric vehicle sales have rebounded this year, experiencing a fourth consecutive month of growth. EV registrations are 23.7 per cent ahead of April last year, and year to date increased by 25.5 per cent, representing 11,311 new electric cars. EV sales have increased in 25 counties during the first four months of the year and SIMI welcomes Minister O'Brien's announcement on the Regional and Local EV Charging Network Plan. Such initiatives are vital to provide rural drivers with more confidence in EVs. The Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) market saw an improvement in April with a 15 per cent increase in sales, a positive result following the decline in sales in the first Quarter of the year.”