New car sales (well, registrations actually) fell by 9.2 per cent in June 2026, compared to the same month last year. That's a significant fall, but the car industry here isn't panicking just yet, as a slowdown in sales in June is relatively normal, ahead of the arrival of the new registration plate on 1 July, when sales are expected to spike.
Click here to view the SIMI June 2026 registrations report.
Are new car registrations down overall this year?
No, actually, sales (registrations…) are actually up by 4.2 per cent for the year to date; that's a modest rise, but not bad going considering all the global political turmoil we've been going through.
How big a part are electric car sales playing?
Huge. Although electric car sales also fell in June by just over nine per cent, for the year to date they're up by 48 per cent on 2025's figures, and the interest in the Government's somewhat bungled 'ICE2EV' scrappage grant pilot scheme is likely to push interest in battery power ever higher in July.
Click here to read our guide to the EV grant support scheme.
Fully electric cars are now actually the second-most popular 'fuel' type for new car buyers in Ireland. Hybrid still leads the way at 25.89 per cent as the most popular engine type, followed by electric at 23.67 per cent, petrol at 21.06 per cent, plug-in hybrid at 14.21 per cent, and diesel at 12.87 per cent.
Brian Cooke, director general of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), which compiles the registration figures, said: "Overall, the new car market outturn for the first half of the year was positive, with 85,203 new cars sold, an increase of four per cent on the first six months of last year. The clear trend in sales is the move towards battery electric and hybrid electric sales, which now account for nearly two-thirds of the market; only seven years ago petrol and diesel cars accounted for 88 per cent of registrations. This is a fundamental market development and is particularly underlined this year by the increase in EV sales, which at 20,164 units represent a 24 per cent market share. Looking forward to the 262 July registration plate, we are expecting further growth in BEV sales. The extension of the SEAI purchase grants, backed up by generous offers from Distributors and Retailers, has now been further enhanced by the 2,000 customers availing of the Government's EV pilot scrappage scheme.”
Take us through the sales charts…
Toyota remains the best-selling car brand in Ireland so far this year, followed by Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda, and Kia. The Toyota Yaris Cross is still 2026's best-selling car overall, followed by the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage, Toyota Corolla, and Skoda Kodiaq.
When it comes to electric cars, the best-selling brand in 2026 (can we say e-brand? Maybe not…) is Volkswagen, followed by Hyundai, Kia, Tesla, and Skoda. The best-selling EV for 2026 so far is the Volkswagen ID.4, followed by the Tesla Model 3, the Tesla Model Y, the Skoda Enyaq, and the Skoda Elroq.
Click here to read our guide to every electric car currently on sale in Ireland.
The best-selling car and the best-selling EV in June was the Tesla Model 3, but that result is likely somewhat skewed by pent-up demand and the arrival of one of Tesla's twice-yearly mass deliveries.