Electric car sales slumped by 25% in the first half of the year, new CSO figures show.

Some 10,344 electric cars were licenced in that period compared to 13,701 a year earlier.

Data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows 14% of all new cars licensed for the first time were electric in the first half of 2024.

That is compared with 19% in the same period a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the number of petrol and electric hybrid cars actually increased by 43% compared with the same period in 2023.

Volkswagen ID.4 SUV Electric Vehicle EV display at a dealership. Image: Jonathan Weiss / Alamy

Volkswagen (442) was the most popular make of new car in June.

Tesla (428) was the second most-popular, followed by Toyota (375), Skoda (212), and Renault (202).

CSO Statistician Damien Lenihan said the hybrid area is growing.

"Today's figures from the CSO show growth in the licensing of petrol and electric hybrid vehicles," he said.

"The number of new petrol and electric hybrid cars licensed increased by 43% from 10,585 in the first half of 2023 to 15,182 in the same period of 2024.

"In the same two periods, electric cars licensed for the first time decreased by 25%.

"In the first six months of 2024, 25,137 new cars licensed were petrol compared with 25,446 in the same period in 2023, a fall of 1%".

There was also a 21% jump in the number of used vehicles licensed in the first six months of the year compared with the same period in 2023.

Main image: An EV charging point with an electric car plugged in, 26-7-17. Image: Geoff Smith / Alamy