Sales of new electric cars down 25% in first half of year

The number of new electric cars sold in Ireland between January and June was down by a quarter on the same six months of last year.

During the period, 14% of all new cars that rolled off the forecourts were electric vehicles (EVs) compared to 19% in the same period of 2023.

The statistic confirms a trend that has become apparent over recent months of less take-up of electric only motoring.

Experts have blamed the fall-off in adoption on a number of factors, including that most early adopters have now bought EVs, so the further rollout requires adoption from more mainstream motorists, who are less enthusiastic about electric driving.

The price of EVs, range anxiety and the perceived inadequacy of the national public charging infrastructure also remain factors thought to be influencing the trend.

The data from the Central Statistics Office shows that nearly a quarter of all new car sales during the first six months of the year were diesel, compared with 22% in the same period last year.

While the number of petrol/electric hybrids sold rose by 43% compared with the same half year in 2023.

Overall, sales of new private cars were up 3% to 75,719 during the first half of the year.

Sales of used cars, however, rose more markedly, by 27%.

Volkswagen was the most popular make of new private car licensed in June.

The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in June was Tesla Model 3, followed by Tesla Model Y and Volkswagen ID.4.