By Dominic McGrath, PA
The number of new electric cars licensed in the Republic 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 per cent of all new cars licensed for the first time were electric or plug-in hybrids.
This comes amid a major push by the 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.
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 number of new electric cars licensed has more than doubled in the first five months of 2022 compared with same period in 2021https://t.co/7l4a4IGGwi #CSOIreland #Ireland #IrishTransport #TransportIreland #Transport #VehicleLicensing #NewVehicle #Business #BusinessStatistics pic.twitter.com/C2low47kSW
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) June 8, 2022
The data also signals a 37 per cent 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 per cent 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.
