NEWS T oyota is Ireland’s best-selling car brand for the first quarter of 2026 for the sixth consecutive year, securing a 13.75% market share. The Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid was the country’s best-selling car model during the period. Between January 1 and March 31, Toyota sold 8,936 passenger cars, finishing more than 2,415 units ahead of its nearest competitor. Four Toyota models featured in Ireland’s top ten best-selling passenger cars with the Yaris Cross leading the market as number one best-selling model in Q1 2026, along with three other models including the Corolla Hybrid, Corolla Cross, Toyota C-HR Hybrid. Toyota’s electrified line-up led the way in Q1, with Hybrid, Plug-In Hybrid, and Battery Electric vehicles accounting for 99.81% of passenger vehicle sales. Toyota’s Battery Electric Vehicles now represent 8.43% of Toyota’s sales mix, up 208.61% compared to Q1 2025, driven by the arrival of the Toyota C-HR+, and new Toyota bZ. Across the wider market, electrified vehicles accounted for nearly two-thirds (65.86%) of all new car registrations in Ireland. Hybrid remains the most popular powertrain choice for Irish drivers, with demand up 11.07% compared to Q1 2025. N ew data from DoneDeal Cars shows automatic cars have overtaken manuals on the platform for the first time in its history — the culmination of a four-year trend that confirms the manual gearbox is disappearing from the Irish car market far faster than most drivers realise. Just four years ago, the picture was reversed. In late 2021, manuals outnumbered automatics on the site by more than two to one, with around 56,000 manuals listed against roughly 22,000 automatics. Since then, automatic listings have risen steadily every year, while manual listings have fallen by more than a quarter. The shift on the used market mirrors an even sharper change in new car sales. In 2016, Irish drivers bought 121,661 new manuals against just 24,989 automatics — roughly five manuals for every
TOYOTA TOPS THE CHARTS
The Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid
Toyota sold 7,981 hybrid units in Q1, representing an 89.31% of its total sales, reinforcing both the continued shift towards lower-emission driving and Toyota’s leadership in electrified mobility. Q1 2026 saw a notable surge in EV adoption, with Battery Electric Vehicles becoming the second-most popular powertrain, overtaking petrol. With a 40.55% increase in market share, electric vehicles continue to attract drivers ready to make the switch to fully electric. Toyota reflected this momentum, recording 753 EV sales in Q1 2026, an increase of 208.61% compared to 244 units in Q1 2025.
This trend was especially pronounced in March, which saw a 34.85% increase in EV sales compared to February, diverging from typical seasonal patterns. The uplift points to a growing consumer focus on the long-term economics of driving, with more motorists recognising the cost efficiencies and value offered by electric vehicles. Meanwhile, diesel and petrol sales continued to decline, with only 8,391 and 13,797 units sold respectively in the first three months of 2026, marking a combined decrease of 45.04% compared to Q1 2025.
AUTOMATICS OVERTAKE MANUALS AS THE CLUTCH PEDAL QUIETLY DISAPPEARS
automatic. In 2026 year-to-date, those numbers have flipped: 51,138 new automatics have been sold against
rather than a manual car. A generation of Irish drivers is now emerging with licences that legally prevent them from driving a significant portion of the cars currently on Irish roads — including older family cars, most work vans, and the majority of rental cars abroad.
13,703 manuals — nearly four automatics for every manual.
The used market, which typically lags new car trends by several years, has now caught up. The change has a consequence most drivers have not considered. Under Road Safety Authority rules, anyone who sits their driving test in an automatic receives a licence with a Code 78 restriction, meaning they are legally entitled to drive automatic cars only — for life, unless they re-sit the test in a manual. For decades this barely mattered, because almost nobody took their test in an automatic. That is changing rapidly, as learner drivers increasingly practise in the family hybrid or EV
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