With car sales flat for the first three months of the year at just under 65,000 units registered, the BEV (Battery Electric Vehicle) share is seeing a sturdy growth of 41% and positioned as the 2nd most popular fuel choice after hybrid combustion engined vehicles. So far in 2026, cars powered solely with electricity are more popular than petrol and diesel fuelled vehicles dropping to the third and fifth most popular positions. In fourth place is PHEVs (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles) making the total share of vehicles that could be powered by electricity at over 1/3 of all new vehicles sold.
The most popular electric models so far in 2026 are the Volkswagen ID.4, Kia EV3, Hyundai INSTER, Toyota bZ and Hyundai KONA. Honourable mention goes to the BYD Sealion 7 in seventh place which was not available last year in any considerable numbers. The most popular electric brands this year so far are Hyundai, Volkswagen, Kia, BYD and Tesla. Every single county in the country has seen growth in their electric car market with Roscommon, Cavan and Kilkenny seeing the strongest growth.
Derek Reilly with Nevo.ie stated that “there is a real momentum in the interest in electric vehicles now across the whole country. It is not just limited to the urban and suburban areas as the recent price shock with petrol and diesel is nationwide. The interest in EV will not truly be reflected in these numbers, so I am expecting an even stronger sales period to follow. There are more choices than ever before and with price parity along with some electric models being priced cheaper than hybrid or combustion engines variants.” He added “The improvement in the public charging network is giving confidence to potential buyers but they soon realise most of their charging is done at home.”
Year-on-year (March ’26 v ’25), Nevo.ie has witnessed a significant increase in visitor traffic and engagement, with 35% overall growth in new visitors to Nevo.ie, Ireland’s only dedicated electric vehicle platform. People reviewing Nevo’s educational content and visiting Nevo.ie have jumped by 457% from social media channels, with a further 99% increase in visitors from Google searches during the same time period.
With recent uncertainties in fuel costs, Nevo is witnessing high demand for EV educational content, with consumers researching information related to EV buying tips, charging networks, and vehicle range, all of which is available on Nevo.ie. Simon Andreucetti, Managing Director of Nevo, stated, “Nevo has not reacted to the recent fuel crisis. Our team has stayed consistent in providing leading educational content and the latest EV reviews over the past number of years. Nevo has always focused on delivering the facts and benefits of switching to electric, which has never been in more demand than now. With current uncertainties in fuel prices, coupled with wider consumer demand and a broad selection of electric vehicles now available, 2026 is poised for substantial growth in consumer adoption of electric motoring.
