Ireland registered 7,811 new cars in August 2026, electric now 26.3% of the year
Ireland registered 7,811 new cars in August 2026, up 3% on August 2025, taking the year-to-date total to 121,979, up 5%. Battery-electric registrations for the year reached 32,079 units, up 55%, giving electric a 26.3% share, the largest single powertrain in Ireland's 2026 market.
August 2026 headline numbers
| Metric | August 2026 | vs August 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| New car registrations | 7,811 | +3% |
| Battery-electric | 2,265 | +7% |
| YTD new cars | 121,979 | +5% |
| YTD battery-electric | 32,079 | +55% |
Year-to-date powertrain mix
| Powertrain | Share of 2026 registrations |
|---|---|
| Electric | 26.3% |
| Hybrid (petrol electric) | 24.14% |
| Petrol | 20.09% |
| Plug-in hybrid | 14.85% |
| Diesel | 12.56% |
SIMI is already lobbying for Budget 2026
SIMI's own release names Budget 2026 directly, arguing that the 3,500 euro SEAI purchase grant, VRT relief and low motor tax need to stay in place for the 55% year-to-date electric growth to continue. That is a policy position layered on top of a genuinely strong number, worth reading as two separate facts: the growth is real, and the industry body wants it protected.
Source and methodology
All figures verified against the SIMI August 2026 release, published 1 September 2026, and independently corroborated by RTE. total_registrations follows SIMI's official year-to-date print of 121,979; the sum of the published monthly series is 122,109 because SIMI revises its cumulative figures. The live monthly bars, county split and fuel mix sit on the Ireland dashboard. Verified 2026-09-04.