Electric car sales are staging something of a comeback in 2025, and the latest new car registration figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that EV sales rose by 25.8 per cent in the first three months of the year.
Crucial first quarter
That first quarter is crucial in Ireland, as it's when the majority of new cars will be sold for the year. Overall, new car registrations (not quite the same as actual sales, but closely linked) were up by four per cent for the period.
In part, that's thanks to a significant 18.4 per cent rise in registrations in March compared to March 2024. 17,345 new cars were registered in Ireland last month, compared to just over 14,000 in the same month last year.
Worrying van sales figures
However, sales of light commercial vehicles (LCVs, or vans, basically) were down significantly in March and have fallen by 13 per cent for the year to date, which is a poor sign of the underlying health of the Irish economy.
However, electric cars staged a major comeback after the significant falls of 2024, with 29 per cent higher sales in March and a 25.8 per cent improvement for the year to date.
Brian Cooke, SIMI's Director General, commented: “Buoyed by a strong performance in March, the first quarter of the year has seen new car registrations increase by four per cent when compared to Q1 2024. Electric Vehicle sales have rebounded since the start of the year growing by 29 per cent in March, to a total of 2,544 units, while year to date they stand at 9,978 units, capturing 15 per cent of the market. In addition to the positive news on EVs, the market performance has been driven by an increase in the sales of hybrid cars, which when combined with EVs account for 55 per cent of the market. On the other hand, Light Commercial Vehicle registrations have seen another month of decline with a 13 per cent decrease in LCV sales this quarter and Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) registrations are down six per cent year to date. This decline in commercial registrations highlights the current uncertain economic climate.”
Petrol power still on top
So far this year, petrol cars continue to lead the new car market at 27.85 per cent, followed by hybrid (petrol-electric) cars at 24.28 per cent, diesel at 16.73 per cent, electric at 15.39 per cent, and plug-in electric hybrids at 14.14 per cent.
For the year to date, the best-selling car was the Hyundai Tucson, a position that the model has held since 2016. It was followed by the Toyota Yaris Cross, the Toyota RAV4, the Kia Sportage, and Skoda Octavia. Toyota remains the best-selling brand, followed by Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda, and Kia.
The best-selling electric car so far this year is the Volkswagen ID.4, followed by the Tesla Model 3, the Kia EV3, Kia EV6, and Hyundai Kona. The best-selling electric brands are Volkswagen, Kia, Hyundai, Tesla, and Nissan. In March, the best-selling car overall was the Toyota RAV4, while the best-selling electric car was the VW ID.4.