THE NUMBER OF new electric cars licensed in Ireland has increased by 82% when compared to the same period last year.

Figures from the CSO show that in the first ten months of 2021, 8,089 new electric cars were licensed.

However, between January and October of this year, that figure jumped by 82% to 14,707.

It comes amid a decrease in the number of new diesel cars.

In the year to October, 26,309 new private cars licensed were diesel, compared to 33,538 throughout the same period last year.

Meanwhile, over a fifth (22%) of all new cars licensed for the first time were electric or plug-in hybrid electric, compared to 16% in the same period in 2021.

Elsewhere, there’s been a significant decrease in the number of used cars licensed in the first ten months of this year, standing at 39,942.

This figure was 60,333 in the same period last year, a 34% decrease.  

There was also a sharp decrease in the number of imported used diesel vehicles in the year to October (14,017), falling by 58% when compared to last year (33,317).

Volkswagen also came out on top as the most popular new private car licensed last month.

4,527 new private cars were licensed last month, a 17% increase on the 3,882 new cars licensed in October of 2021.

Volkswagen vehicles accounted for 827 of last month’s figure.