Updated 1 October 2026. Figures cover July and August 2026, the two months SIMI has published for the 262 plate. September will be added when SIMI's release is verified on our Ireland dashboard.
Ireland registered 36,857 new cars on the 262 plate in July and August 2026, up 7.4% on the 34,312 registered on the 252 plate in the same two months of 2025. July brought 29,046 (SIMI July 2026 release) and August 7,811 (SIMI, 1 September 2026). Of those cars, 11,947 were battery-electric, a 32.4% share: 9,682 in July, a monthly record, and 2,265 in August.
When does the 262 reg start?
A 262 plate means a car first registered in Ireland in the second half of 2026: "26" is the year and "2" is the half. The 262 plate started on 1 July 2026 and runs to 31 December 2026. Cars registered from 1 January to 30 June carry 261, and 271 plates begin on 1 January 2027. SIMI's June release named the switch directly, expecting growth "as July 262 sales begin" (SIMI, 1 July 2026).
261 against 262 so far
The 261 plate carried 85,203 new cars from January to June 2026, on SIMI's official half-year figure. With 36,857 added on 262, Ireland's year to date stands at 121,979 on SIMI's cumulative print, up 5%. The monthly releases add to a slightly higher figure because SIMI revises earlier months; we quote the official cumulative.
How much of the 262 year is already done
Most of a second-half plate is sold in its first two months. In 2025, July and August delivered 34,312 of the 43,212 cars registered from July to December, 79.4%, on SIMI Motorstats monthly data (SIMI Motorstats). In 2024 the same two months carried 78.5%. September to December added 8,900 cars in 2025 and 9,087 in 2024. If the last four months of 2026 simply match 2025, the 262 plate would finish near 45,750 cars. That is arithmetic on last year's pattern, not a forecast: September is the only remaining month that usually adds more than 5,000.
What 262 buyers chose
Electric is the defining change. A 32.4% electric share on the 262 plate compares with 26.3% for the whole of 2026 to August, so second-half buyers are more electric than first-half buyers. Year to date, Ireland has registered 32,079 electric cars, up 55%. The Toyota RAV4 was SIMI's best-selling car in August and the Volkswagen ID.4 the best-selling electric car. Across the full year the Toyota Yaris Cross leads with 3,711 registrations to the end of August; the full top ten is in our Ireland top 10 for 2026.
Month-by-month bars, county splits and the fuel mix are on the live Ireland dashboard, and the July detail is in our July 2026 report.