Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

‘Continued growth’ in number of electric cars being licensed

So far this year, more than 20% of all new cars licensed for the first time were electric or plug-in hybrids.

Dominic McGrath
Wednesday 08 June 2022 13:26 BST
An electric vehicle charge point in Dublin city centre (Brian Lawless/PA)
An electric vehicle charge point in Dublin city centre (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The number of new electric cars licensed in Ireland has more than doubled in the first five months of the year compared with the same period in 2021, new data shows.

Figures published on Wednesday by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that so far this year, more than 20% of all new cars licensed for the first time were electric or plug-in hybrids.

This comes amid a major push by the Irish Government to encourage drivers to switch to electric vehicles, with plans for nearly one million electric vehicles on Irish roads by the end of the decade.

The number of new electric cars licensed has more than doubled from 3,678 in the first five months of 2021 to 7,825 in 2022. At the same time, the number of new diesel cars is decreasing

Nele van der Wielen, CSO

Nele van der Wielen, from the CSO, said: “Today’s figures from the CSO show the continued growth in the number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles licensed in Ireland.

“The number of new electric cars licensed has more than doubled from 3,678 in the first five months of 2021 to 7,825 in 2022. At the same time, the number of new diesel cars is decreasing.”

Since the beginning of January, around 15,400 new cars licensed in Ireland ran on diesel, compared to just over 20,000 in the same period last year.

The data also signals a 37% fall in the number of used private cars licensed in May, compared to the same month last year.

Similarly, the number of used cars licensed so far this year dropped by 43% compared to last year, a decline from over 34,000 to just under 20,000 over a five-month period.

According to the CSO, Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed last month.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in