Sales of new electric cars in Donegal continue to surge ahead

Electric car sales in County Donegal have increased by a whopping 45 per cent in 2025, the latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry have revealed.

Despite continued misgivings around charging infrastructure and ‘range anxiety’, almost one in nine of all cars now sold here in Donegal are fully electric.

A total of 193 EVs were registered with a 251-DL number plate from January to the end of June, compared to 133 for the same period in 2024.

Overall, car sales through the first six months of 2025 in County Donegal have increased by almost four per cent. A total of 1,786 cars of all engine types have been registered so far, compared to 1,720 new registrations for the same period in 2024.

Nationally, registrations for the first-half of 2025 are up 3.5 per cent (81,750) on the same period last year (78,979).

Petrol cars continue as the new car market leader at 27.2 per cent, followed ever-closer by Hybrid (Petrol Electric) at 22.8 per cent, Diesel at 17.3 per cent, Electric at 16.7 per cent, and Plug-in Electric Hybrid at 14.5 per cent.

The top five selling new car brands in Ireland in 2025 are Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda and Kia [in that order].

The top-selling specific model is the Hyundai Tucson, followed by the Toyota RAV 4, Toyota Yaris, Kia Sportage and Skoda Octavia.

In the battery-powered stakes, the top five selling new electric vehicles in 2025 are the Volkswagen ID.4, Tesla Model 3, Kia EV3, Kia EV6, and Tesla Model Y.

County Donegal accounts for 2.18 per cent of the total Irish car sales market, unchanged from last year.

Dublin has by far the most sales, with 35,325 cars registered in the capital county during the first six months of 2025 for a 43.2 per cent market share.

Cork had the next highest sales on 9,251 [11.3 per cent], followed by Kildare on 3,642 [4.7 per cent] and Galway on 3,352 [4.1 per cent].

At the other end of the scale, County Leitrim had the fewest new car registrations on 311, which equates to just 0.38 per cent of sales nationally. Longford had the second fewest sales, followed by Counties Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo and Cavan, which were all under 1 per cent too.

Some 13,631 new electric cars have been registered nationally through the first six months of June, representing a 27 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024, when 10,737 electric cars were registered.

When it comes to EVs, Donegal accounts for just 1.4 per cent of all electric vehicles sold nationally from January to June, up from 1.2 per cent last year.

Dublin accounts for almost half of all EV sales nationally, with 6,590 battery-powered cars sold so far in 2025, for a market share of 48.4 per cent. County Cork is next on the electric list, with 1,320 sales [9.7 per cent], followed by Kildare on 828 [6.1 per cent].

Just 24 EVs were registered in Leitrim through the first six months of 2025 – down from 26 last year – and that’s the lowest of any Irish county by a distance.

Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General, said the most notable statistic for the first half of the year has been the performance of battery electric vehicle sales, which have shown consistent growth each month.

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However, Mr Cooke said more government supports are still needed in the area.

“EV registrations in June increased by 82 per cent in comparison with June last year, with 1,246 units sold, while year-to-date new EV registrations reached 13,631, a 27 per cent increase on the first half of last year. EVs represent nearly 17 percent of new cars sold this year,” he said.

He added: “While this is clearly a positive development, it should be highlighted that EV sales are behind 2023 levels (14,307), and extension of government supports is still vital in the establishment of the EV market.”

Meanwhile, July marks the start of the 252 sales period, along with the debut of the new green ‘flash’ on license registration plates for zero-emission vehicles.