New EV Registrations Double in May; Total New Cars Up 32%

New electric car registrations in May more than doubled compared to last year, with 3,010 EVs registered, an increase of 118% from 1,382. This contributed to a 32% rise in total new cars licensed for the month, from 8,403 to 11,063, as diesel car popularity continued to decline, according to Central Statistics Office data.

From January to May, the share of EVs among new cars increased from 16% to 24%, and among used cars, it rose from 4% to 10%. New EV licenses over this period grew by 52%, from 11,877 to 18,041, meaning one in four new cars licensed was electric. Hybrid vehicle licensing in May also increased by 55% to 2,727, though new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles decreased by 2% to 1,389, with their year-to-date share remaining at 15%.

Used car licenses rose by 22% to 7,519. The combined share of new petrol and diesel cars from January to May fell from 44% to 34%. New petrol car licenses decreased by 19% to 15,952, and new diesel car licenses dropped by 22% to 9,749.

Toyota was the most popular new car make in May with 2,011 vehicles, followed by Volkswagen (1,679), Skoda (1,483), Kia (621), and Hyundai (604), collectively accounting for 58% of all new cars. The Volkswagen ID4 was the most popular new electric car with 341 registrations, ahead of the Skoda Enyaq (182) and Skoda Elroq (175).