Official figures show a continuing surge in the number of electric and hybrid vehicles licensed in Ireland in the early part of this year.

These cars now have a share of just over 20% of the new-car market, according to Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The CSO said that almost 58,500 new cars were licensed in the first five months of 2022 – up 7% compared with the same period last year.

For May alone, however, the figure of 7,120 represented a 3% drop compared with the same month in 2021.

Fewer used cars licensed

The number of used cars licensed in the first five months slumped by more than 40% to 19,310

The CSO figures show that 7,825 new electric cars were bought in the first five months of 2022 – more than double the figure for the same period last year.

Diesel-powered cars, however, accounted for just over a quarter of new cars sold in the first five months, compared with almost 40% a year earlier.

Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in May, followed by Volkswagen and Hyundai.