January 2025 accounted for 33,521 of the year's 124,954 new car registrations, close to 27%, after 26% in 2024 (SIMI). Few European markets show this level of concentration. The cause is Ireland's "year plate" system, the first digits of every Irish registration plate reflect the year of first registration. A car registered on 31 December 2024 displays a "242" plate; the same car bought on 1 January 2025 displays a "251" plate. A newer year plate is widely seen as more desirable at resale, which is why buyers wait.
Why It Matters
Buyers, dealers, OEMs and finance providers all front-load activity into January. Showrooms staff up. Marketing campaigns peak in December for January delivery. PCP/PCH contracts are timed to settle for January handover. The OEM monthly reporting cycle in Ireland is entirely January-anchored.
The 2013 July Reform
In 2013 Ireland introduced a second plate-change month: July. The intent was to smooth annual demand. July is now the second peak: July 2025 brought 26,787 registrations, about 21% of the year (SIMI, 1 August 2025). January and July together accounted for roughly 48% of 2025 registrations, leaving the other ten months to share the rest.
What This Means for EV Adoption
Single-month EV share figures in Ireland are misleading. In January 2025 electric cars took 14.69% of registrations, against 18.89% for the full year, so even the biggest month can sit several points away from the annual figure. Read the full-year EV share for Ireland, not a single month.
See the Ireland seasonality heatmap on the Ireland dashboard.
Source: SIMI, January 2025 and SIMI, 2 January 2026.