New car registrations rose to 5,629 in September, up 9.8 per cent on the same month last year when 5,126 were registered. Across the first nine months of 2025, the market stands at 121,693 registrations, 3.7 per cent ahead of the 117,355 recorded by this point in 2024.
What about electric cars?
Battery-electric registrations accelerated in September, with 1,737 new EVs registered, up 73.2 per cent on the 1,003 recorded a year ago. Year to date, 22,382 new electric cars have been registered, which is 38.8 per cent ahead of the same period last year. EV volumes are also about three per cent ahead of 2023, the previous record year for BEVs.
How did vans and trucks perform?
Light commercial vehicles reached 2,169 registrations in September, a 7.5 per cent gain, and are up 3.1 per cent year-to-date at 29,747. Heavy goods vehicles logged 170 registrations for the month, up 3.7 per cent, but remain 8.3 per cent lower year to date at 2,403.
What about used imports in Ireland?
The number of imported used cars climbed to 7,000 in September, 36.8 per cent higher than the 5,116 seen a year ago. For the year to date, used imports are up 12.4 per cent at 53,662.
Which engines are people choosing in 2025?
Petrol holds the largest share of the new car market so far this year at 25.41 per cent, followed by hybrid at 22.62 per cent, electric at 18.39 per cent, diesel at 17.15 per cent and plug-in hybrid at 14.82 per cent.
Which are the top sellers?
Toyota remains the best-selling brand year to date, followed by Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai and Kia. The Hyundai Tucson leads the model chart for 2025 ahead of the Skoda Octavia, Kia Sportage, Toyota Yaris Cross and Toyota RAV4.
In September, the Toyota Corolla Cross was the top-selling car. In the EV market, Volkswagen leads the brand rankings year to date, ahead of Kia, Hyundai, Tesla and Skoda, with the Volkswagen ID.4 the best-selling electric model ahead of the Tesla Model 3, Kia EV3, Tesla Model Y and Kia EV6. The Tesla Model 3 was September's top-selling electric car.
What is SIMI asking for in Budget 2026?
SIMI says current incentives have helped pull EV demand forward and is calling for clear continuity beyond the end of 2025. The organisation wants the SEAI grant, VRT relief and the zero-per-cent BIK threshold for company EVs to be extended, giving buyers, fleets and the industry certainty. SIMI argues that strong new EV sales today are needed to seed supply in the used market in the years ahead.