Hundreds of electric cars registered in Kilkenny last year as record number reached

There were hundreds of electric cars registered in County Kilkenny last year, new statistics have revealed.

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) recently released their official new vehicle registrations statistics for 2025.

They reveal that a total of 312 electric vehicles were registered in Kilkenny last year. This represents a 35% increase on the 2024 figure, which stood at 232.

However, the electric vehicles registered in Kilkenny amounted to just 1.32% of the national total.

Counties like Cork, Kildare and Meath registered electric cars in their thousands, while in Dublin, a total of 11,151 such vehicles were registered.

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Meanwhile, there were 2017 total car registrations in Kilkenny in 2025. This was a decrease of 1.8% on 2024’s figure of 2054.

In total, 124,954 new vehicles were registered in Ireland last year - an increase of 3% on 2024.

The top five selling car brands in 2025 were Toyota, Volkswagen, Skoda, Hyundai and Kia.

Meanwhile, the top five selling car models were the Hyundai Tucson, Skoda Octavia, Kia Sportage, Toyota Yaris Cross and Toyota Rav.

Some 75% of new vehicles sold in 2025 were automatic, with 25% being manual. Petrol remains the most popular engine type, accounting for 25% of vehicles registered.

Concurrently, hybrids accounted for 23% of cars sold, with electric vehicles at 19%, diesel cars at 17% and plug-in hybrids at 15%.

The hatchback continues to remain Ireland’s top-selling car body type, with grey retaining the top-selling colour title for the tenth year running.

Reacting to the report, SIMI Director General Brian Cooke said that the 2025 new car market finished in line with projects.

He added: “Hybrid-electric vehicles continued to gain momentum in 2025, while traditional fuels have seen a decline in their market share.

“The 261 sales period has now commenced, and the Irish Motor Industry is optimistic for the year ahead.

“Retailers and manufacturers have a variety of offers and different models available for both new and used cars to suit all buyers, making it a good time to shop around.”

The SIMI (Society of the Irish Motor Industry) is the official voice of the motor industry in Ireland.

It is a member’s organisation which consists of dealers, repairers, vehicle distributors, wholesalers, retailers, vehicle testers and many more important operators within the industry in Ireland.

Its role is to represent the views of the motor industry by campaigning to the Government, state bodies, the media and the motoring public.