DUBLIN — 12 August 2026 — Eight days after the Society of the Irish Motor Industry published July’s registration file, the headline still holds: battery-electric cars had their best month on record and, for the first time this year, the largest slice of the new-car market. odo.ie has checked SIMI’s 4 August release against RTÉ and CompleteCar, then laid it beside the grant rules that changed at the end of July — because a record month that coincides with a scrappage launch and a price-cap deadline is not just a demand story. It is also a calendar story.
The July record, in SIMI’s numbers
SIMI’s 4 August statistical release:
- 9,682 new battery-electric cars in July 2026, versus 4,898 in July 2025 — +98%. SIMI director general Brian Cooke called it “the highest monthly BEV sales ever achieved.”
- Year to date: 29,840 new BEVs, versus 18,527in the same period of 2025 — +61%.
- All new cars in July: 29,046, up 8.63% on 26,738 a year earlier. YTD: 114,228, up 5.2% on 108,487.
- Used imports in July: 8,616, up 27% on 6,803. YTD used imports: 55,724, up 37% on 40,698.
- Light commercials fell 6.08% in July (5,744 vs 6,116) but remain up 9.3% year to date.
RTÉ’s Aengus Cox and CompleteCar’s Neil Briscoe published the same BEV and market-share figures the same day. They match SIMI’s tables.
What Ireland actually bought
Familiar names still run the overall chart. SIMI’s 2026 YTD top brands: Toyota, Volkswagen, Škoda, Hyundai, Kia. Top models: Toyota Yaris Cross, Hyundai Tucson, Toyota Corolla, Škoda Octavia, Kia Sportage. July’s overall best-seller was the Škoda Octavia.
On the electric side, YTD brands: Volkswagen, Kia, Hyundai, Škoda, Tesla. YTD EV models: Volkswagen ID.4, Toyota bZ4X, Škoda Enyaq, Tesla Model Y, Škoda Elroq. July’s top EV: the ID.4 again.
That list is the Irish grant-and-dealer map in miniature: volume MEB cars and Toyota’s bZ sitting above Tesla, with Elroq already inside the top five.
Not just Dublin — SIMI’s county tables
Cooke said the BEV increase “is evident in every county” and that rural motorists “received the majority of scrappage grants.” SIMI’s own YTD EV county table supports a geographic shift even if Dublin still dominates volume:
- Dublin registered 11,357 new EVs YTD (38.06% of national EV regs), up 31.92% — but its share of Ireland’s EV registrations fell from 46.47% in the same period of 2025.
- Cork: 3,600 EVs, +96.29%. Kildare: 1,923, +69.43%. Galway: 1,120, +83.61%.
- Some smaller counties more than doubled: Roscommon +164.89% (249 vs 94), Longford +117.31%, Clare +112.26%, Mayo +112.37%, Cavan +110.71%.
That pattern fits the ICE2EV design. The Department of Transport’s 3 June announcement reserved 65% of the €10 million for rural applicants and 35% for urban, using CSO Census 2022 definitions. SIMI’s “majority rural” claim is consistent with that allocation. It is still SIMI speaking; the Department has not, in the documents we reviewed, published a county-level ICE2EV outturn.
Grants, ICE2EV and the €50,000 cap
Cooke was blunt: “This increase in BEV sales would not have been achieved without Government supports. In particular, the Government’s pilot scrappage scheme, introduced in July, along with the existing BEV grant supports, have helped build on market momentum.” He called for “retention and extension in Budget 2027.” That last sentence is trade-body advocacy, not a Budget decision.
The scheme he is pointing at is ICE2EV, announced 3 June by Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien, launched 1 July, administered by SEAI, funded with €10 million from the Climate Action Fund. Qualifying owners of an ICE registered in 2013 or earlier could get €5,000toward a new BEV, stacked on the €3,500 SEAI purchase grant — up to €8,500. The ICE had to have been in the applicant’s name for 12 months, taxed and insured for six months, and hold a valid NCT (or one expired by no more than six months).
That pot lasted one morning. The Journal, citing SEAI on 1 July, reported that all 2,000 grants were committed within 75 minutes of the 9am opening, with the rural allocation gone in about half that time. A Department of Transport spokesperson called it “exceptionally strong interest.” SEAI still states the €10 million budget “has been fully allocated.” Citizens Information, edited 10 August 2026, says the scheme “has closed” and “a review of the scheme will be undertaken.” How many of those 2,000 cars actually registered in July is not in SIMI’s file.
The same June announcement cut the SEAI BEV grant’s maximum eligible price from €60,000 to €50,000 for new applications received after 31 July 2026. Pre-deadline applications keep the old threshold. Citizens Information now lists the private BEV grant as up to €3,500 on new cars priced between €15,000 and €50,000. VRT relief for qualifying BEVs remains in force until 31 December 2026 on Revenue’s current page. Annual motor tax for a BEV is still €120.
The August hangover — labelled as analysis
July combined three calendars: the 1 July ICE2EV opening (and same-morning close), a 31 July grant-cap deadline, and the usual 262-plate half-year. It is reasonable — and unproven until August’s file lands — to treat some of the 9,682 as pull-forward: buyers who would have registered in August or September bringing the deal forward to keep a €60,000-cap car or a €5,000 scrappage cheque. SIMI has not published a split of July BEVs that used ICE2EV versus those that did not.
What is proven is the rule change after the month closed. Anyone walking into a dealer today faces a tighter SEAI ceiling and no scrappage top-up, while VRT relief still has a 31 December clock. That is a different offer than the one that produced the record.
What to watch
SIMI’s August registration release will show whether July was a spike or a new floor. Budget 2027 is where Cooke wants the €3,500 grant and related supports extended. Revenue’s VRT-relief end-date is already printed. For buyers, the practical sequence is: confirm SEAI eligibility on the current price, do not assume ICE2EV, and run energy cost against this week’s petrol and diesel spike — the other story in today’s news section.
Bought the EV. Now log the kWh.
Registration month is a headline. Home-night versus public DC is the bill. odo.ie tracks charge sessions, NCT and tax so the running cost is yours.
Sources
- SIMI — “Record-breaking sales of electric cars in July 2026” (4 August 2026), including county tables and Brian Cooke statement
- RTÉ — Aengus Cox, 4 August 2026
- CompleteCar — Neil Briscoe, 4 August 2026
- Department of Transport — ICE2EV announcement, 3 June 2026 (€10m, 65/35 rural-urban, €5,000, €50k cap from 31 July)
- SEAI / The Journal (1 July 2026) — ICE2EV closed the morning it opened; 2,000 grants in 75 minutes
- Citizens Information — Electric vehicles page, edited 10 August 2026 (€15,000–€50,000 grant band; ICE2EV closed)
- RTÉ (8 August 2026) — about 4% of the Irish fleet fully electric (stock, not new-registration share)
- Revenue.ie — BEV VRT relief to 31 December 2026