EV is No. 1 fuel type for Passenger cars - A Data analysis

July 2026 marks a significant month in the BEV (Battery Electric Vehicles) adoption in Ireland. One that we should take time to note, and to celebrate. As of the end of July 2026 and for the first time in Ireland, EVs are the No. 1 fuel type for New passenger vehicle Registrations in Ireland with 29,840 units Total New Registrations this year, making up 26.12% of the market and finally surpassing Petrol Electric Hybrid (the non-PHEV type) which stands at 28,089 units and a continuous swing above Petrol & Diesel only fuel types. For the 2026 year to the end of July, EV sales are up 61.06% in 2026, and in total for 2026 we are already 26.44% above 2025 sales figures (23,601 units) with 5 months of sales left for the year.

Now, one thing to note in the past month is the introduction of the ICE2EV scheme. This was hugely successful in its adoption rate, being filled in a little over an hour for 2,000 vehicles. We are somewhat under the assumption at this point that all could have been fulfilled in July, but there is no confirmed details that this is the case just yet. For now we can only make an assumption that they most likely have been fulfilled in the majority. With that for July there were 9,682 vehicles registered which is significantly above the 4,898 units registered for July of 2025 without this scheme and gives a year-on-year growth of 97.67% comparing July of each year. If we remove the probable fulfilment of the ICE2EV scheme of 2,000 vehicles, or in a sense just ignore it, this would still leave July's figures at 7,682 vehicles and would still show a year-on-year growth of 56.84% comparing July of last year.

This shows that EVs are very much the 'here & now' and are no longer an outside choice for how people fuel their vehicle, bringing about a noticeable mark in consumer demand to go with (what we have always argued) is the best overall choice for how we fuel our vehicles.

Fuel types - A Data analysis

For a long time now and in our work to provide accurate data, we have tracked EV sales and where the trajectory is going for vehicles and thus charging requirements. To do this, we have been tracking data as made publically available from SIMI (Society of the Irish Motor Industry) for all vehicle types across all categories: Passenger Vehicles, Light Commercial, Heavy Commercial, and Buses. Importantly for publicly accessible EV charging and the levels of charging requirements needed, this is a mixture of tracking information on EV and PHEV fuel types, for both New Registrations and Used Import Registrations. Data goes back to 2008 as the start of EV sales, so a lot of data to try to track! With this, from stats.simi.ie we have taken all of the historical data and collated it into an excel sheet to understand it all. There is probably some data we have missed, but we have tracked this as accurately and completely as possible. So, let's get into the data and what all of it tells us!

What does this look like for Passenger vehicles?

Taking the headline figure for July 2026 and for year-to-date EV is the No.1 fuel type is just the start. There have been a number of significant moments in time for the EV trajectory that are important to remember, many of which are closer than many would think!

EV sales kicked off in 2008 with 6 vehicles being registered. For the formative years, vehicles like the Nissan Leaf (CHAdeMO), Renault Zoe (AC43) and Tesla Model S (Tesla proprietary) made up the bulk of sales and in a time before the CCS standard, with CCS sales only starting in 2014.

In 2018, CCS connectors made up 18.59% of connector types, but in 2019 this jumped massively for CCS sales to make up 60.74% of connector types to overtake the 'others' in a year where total EV sales were 3444 units. This has continued since then.

It took a further two years until 2021 for the next two significant milestones. 2021 marked the year where CCS used-imports overtook the 'other' connector types. It was also the year where CCS sales made up 91.27% of new vehicles sales, and importantly was the year where the cumulative sum of CCS vehicles (new and used import registrations) surpassed the 'other' connectors. By the end of 2021, there were 14,425 CCS cars on the road, versus 7,976 of the 'other' charging types.

Since that point in time, we have had ups & downs: negative media narrative, wars, supply-chain issues, grant level changes, storms etc etc. All have added to the change in how we have gotten to today. But it is important to note, from those humble 6 vehicles in 2008, we now have a total of 145,913 EVs on the road as of the end of July 2026. With the current growth and demand, this is only going to continue to increase at a rapid pace!

What does this look like for LCVs vehicles?

While a large majority of our focus is around passenger vehicles and how we engage with individuals in that regard, it is important to look at the other types of categories. LCV (Light Commercial Vehicles) is a segment where EV adoption is significantly behind where we find passenger vehicles.

For 2026 despite being the No. 2 fuel type, EVs are still behind the curve making up only 4.81% of all new vehicle sales with 1,310 units, with Diesel being the driving source with 90.85% of new vehicles sales. This is similarly reflected in Used Imports and very, very small percentages of these vehicles being electric. This marks a significant gap in our EV adoption in Ireland, one where a larger focus needs to come about.

We have seen data that shows that passenger EV sales will impact other categories and an uptick in those as people get used to EVs outside of work and then see the positive aspect for their work vehicles being transferred across, but we have not seen this yet in the following categories. Something where education and understanding behind these figures is required in more detail.

What does this look like for HCVs & Buses vehicles?

For HCV (Heavy Commercial Vehicles) and Buses the number of vehicles is small, but for EVs and buses in particular, we can tell that there is a significant uptake in these and how people get about in our cities. Currently in Athlone, Dublin and Limerick there are a large number of electric buses in these towns and cities, with more to come.

2024 was the substantial year for Buses and electrification with 227 buses registered. Now, we know that there are issues around charging for some of the cities, but we know that this is being worked on, and that further phases will come about as our major cities will be fully electrified over the coming years.

With HCV and Buses, similar to the LCV there is still significant infrastructure and education required for these to be accepted, but this is also being worked upon from initial conversations we have had on the infrastructure side and education is something we all must work on. To capture the 2026 figures, there are 4 electric HCVs registered making up a 0.13% share of the market, and for Buses there are 39 registrations making up 9.05% of the market. Still far behind where it needs to be.

Breakdown on CHAdeMO vehicles

It's worth writing a section on the Nissan Leaf/eNV200 and the CHAdeMO connector as it is still found across Ireland in numbers that are just about support in public charging for the number of vehicles found on the road, but not always in the correct locations!

Now, to touch on this first, we have run two group buys for CHAdeMO to CCS adapters, and initial results are looking good for these units working across multiple CPOs and different types of units. However, it is still a costly option and one where the end users shouldn't really have to take the brunt of the cost. But it does keep these vehicles moving and used for many more years to come!

Which is to say, the Nissan Leaf has been a crux of the EV adoption globally and in Ireland it peaked for sales in 2019 with 1,489 units that year. To date, there are 10,463 CHAdeMO electric vehicles registered on our roads. At the end of 2025, these still made up 1-in-10 passenger vehicles on the road, but with the significant increase in new passenger vehicles in 2026 and taking an overarching view on the charging outlook, CHAdeMO vehicles now make up 8.51% of passenger vehicles and 6.78% of all vehicles categories on the road. Still a significant percentage, and one where new units are still being installed with CHAdeMO connectors through the likes of InstaVolt, EZO and Circle K. This continued rollout plus the charging adapter means that these vehicles still have a long life left in them.

Where we stand with PHEV, both new and imported

While not the main focus of what we discuss or promote, it is important to track PHEV (Plug-in Hybrid) vehicles and their adaption. This is for two reasons. Firstly, there is a market trend to be checked as PHEV has at times been ahead of EV sales and this cross over is important for education and awareness, and secondly for tracking public charging resources.

From a sales perspective, in simple terms there are 126,418 units of New and Used Import PHEV Registrations in Ireland. Since 2022, EV sales have mainly been ahead of PHEV, but they have tracked reasonably close to one another and in some years are an almost one-to-one match by year end.

Overall summary and how this affects charging rates

How do we round up the above into a concise summary? Our data is from the start of information available in 2007/2008 up until the July 2026 data as released from SIMI. This is the total for all vehicles (New or Used Imported), and can be used as our marker in the sand for now. But importantly, 2026 marks the year where EV sales have topped the charts!

Importantly, for public charging and what is required for the public network it does have an impact and more analysis will be required on these figures as time moves on. But initially it looks that a continued push will be required for Public charging to continue to grow with the current levels of sales, which are growing significantly. This is summarised in the table below as to the current charging requirements for vehicles on the road and what are the ZEVI EV Strategy targets up to 2030 (still in Draft phase).

We will note that the current pool is shown as 214,000kW for the start of 2026 from ZEVI. Midway through the year, and this is significantly behind what is seen in the current growth and number of vehicles on the road. As we move towards 2030, the growth from the past two years projected out would bring us close to 100,000 EV sales in 2030. As a whole, this would lead to approximately 476,500 BEVs on the road, and close to or around 200,000 PHEVs at a rough estimate. Over the coming 4 years, this leads to a total pool requirement of 779,450kW for charging. A little above what is set out in the strategy documents. While this is one we need to continue to monitor, it is important to note that as it stands at the minute things are going in the right direction. And for that, we should take the time to celebrate the positive point we have reached and keep working towards the future!