CLARE saw an almost 50% rise in new electric car registrations last month.
New nationwide registration statistics were published by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) for May.
Registrations of new cars was down 8.8% nationally, compared to a 5.3% rise in the number of battery electric registered last month. Clare saw a growth of over 5% in new vehicle registrations this year with 1,670 new units added to the road compared to 1,577 up to the end of May in 2024.
Clare has seen one of the most dramatic increases in new electric vehicle registrations in 2025. There have been 206 new registrations so far this year, compared to 139 last year, a rise of almost 50%.
At a national level, 1092 electric vehicles this May, a 5.3% increase on the 1037 EVs registered in the same month last year. So far in 2025, there has been a 23% increase in new electric cars registered, rising from 10,052 in 2024 to 12,392 in 2025.
Society of Irish Motor Industry Director General Brian Cooke commented, “For the fifth consecutive month, new electric vehicle sales have increased, with EV registrations 5% ahead of May last year, with over 12,300 new electric cars sold so far this year, representing a 23% increase on last year. Private consumers continue to account for the majority of EV sales”.
“Private consumers continue to account for the majority of EV sales. While we are now on schedule to reach the interim Climate Action Plan target of 175,000 electric cars (EV & PHEV) by the end of this year, as highlighted by the EPA recently, we need to do more to accelerate the growth in EV sales between now and the end of the decade. In this context, Government initiatives and supports will be vital”, he said.
Galway has also seen a sharp increase in electric car registrations. Between January and May 2025, 403 new units were registered which represents an increase of over 33% than the 301 vehicles registered during the same timeframe last year.
