Ireland’s ICE2EV scrappage scheme lands, new DoneDeal Cars data reveals
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Consumer interest in EVs on DoneDeal Cars driven by the ‘Carrot’ of the Scrappage Scheme and the ‘Stick’ of the record Fuel Prices
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Appetite for Diesel Cars is falling more slowly in the used market as seen with slower decline on DoneDeal Cars vs new market
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Averaged across H1 2026, electric vehicle searches on DoneDeal Cars were up 78% year-on-year but that growth accelerated sharply in June, up 115% year-on-year, more than doubling.
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The June acceleration coincides with the Government’s announcement of the ICE2EV scrappage scheme on 3 June 2026, offering up to €8,500 toward a new EV for drivers scrapping a pre-2013 petrol or diesel car.
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The scrappage scheme built on ground already gained: EV-specific searches on DoneDeal Cars had already risen 125% and diesel-specific searches had fallen 19.5% between February and April 2026, as the fuel price crisis triggered by the conflict in Iran pushed drivers to search for alternatives well before June’s scheme announcement.
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A DoneDeal Cars survey conducted in the days following the announcement found that 73% of drivers were already aware of the scheme. This is consistent with the surge in EV-specific search activity recorded on the platform that month.
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Diesel-specific searches fell 17% year-on-year across H1 2026 on average, while petrol rose 6% and hybrid was down 5% — both far steadier than the swings in diesel and electric.
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The diesel decline wasn’t uniform across brands: Volkswagen-specific diesel searches fell by the least of any major make (-10%), while Audi and Mercedes-Benz fell hardest (around -18% each) — and BMW has overtaken Audi as the second most-searched diesel make, across all cars including new and used.
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Every top EV model grew year-on-year, but the Skoda Enyaq stands out: Enyaq-specific searches on DoneDeal Cars surged 168%, climbing from ninth to third place, while Audi e-tron searches dropped out of the top sixteen entirely.
New year-on-year search data from DoneDeal Cars, Ireland’s largest car marketplace, shows electric vehicle search accelerating sharply in June 2026, in the immediate aftermath of the Government’s announcement of the ICE2EV scrappage scheme. Averaged across H1 2026, electric vehicle searches were up 78% year-on-year; in June alone — the month the scheme was announced — that growth accelerated to 115%, meaning EV searches had more than doubled compared with June 2025. Diesel-specific searches, by contrast, fell 17% year-on-year on average across the half. The analysis is drawn from platform searches where users specified a fuel type, capturing genuine buyer intent rather than general browsing.
The timing is notable: Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien announced the ICE2EV scheme on 3 June 2026, offering a combined €8,500 in grant and scrappage support to drivers who scrap a petrol or diesel car registered in 2013 or earlier and buy a new electric vehicle. With the announcement landing just two days into the month, June’s search data overwhelmingly reflects the period after the scheme was unveiled. A DoneDeal Cars survey conducted among users in the days following the announcement found 73% were already aware of the scheme, a strong result for a policy only days old, lending independent support to the search-activity spike recorded on DoneDeal Cars.
The scrappage scheme wasn’t the first jolt to EV demand this year. Ireland’s fuel price crisis, triggered by the outbreak of conflict in Iran, had already reshaped platform search behaviour well before the summer: DoneDeal Cars data showed EV-specific searches up 125% and diesel-specific searches down 19.5% between February and April 2026, with hybrid searches also up 42.9% as drivers looked to insulate themselves from pump-price volatility. That underlying surge in EV search interest had already primed the market before the ICE2EV scheme arrived in June and pushed search activity to record levels.
Petrol searches rose 6% year-on-year and hybrid searches were down 5%, both far steadier than the swings seen in diesel and electric. Volkswagen extended its position as the most-searched make on the platform overall, with Volkswagen-specific searches up 6% year-on-year — but a closer look at diesel, petrol and electric searches individually shows three very different, and diverging, trends beneath the headline numbers.
Volkswagen is gaining ground in both diesel and petrol search, but for very different reasons. In diesel, Volkswagen is losing searches more slowly than its rivals within a shrinking category. In petrol, Volkswagen is growing faster than a category that is itself expanding. Electric search breaks from both patterns: every top model is growing, but the Skoda Enyaq is growing far faster than the rest.
Diesel: In decline in both the new and used market
Diesel-specific searches fell 17% year-on-year overall but the decline wasn’t spread evenly across makes. Volkswagen-specific diesel searches fell by 10%, the smallest decline of any major make, while Skoda (-12%) and BMW (-13%) also outperformed the category. Audi and Mercedes-Benz-specific diesel searches fell furthest, both down around 18%. The reshuffling means BMW has overtaken Audi to become the second most-searched diesel make, a year after Audi held that position.
DoneDeal Cars search data is weighted toward the existing car parc, but does include new cars, with over 6,700 new cars currently for sale on DoneDeal Cars. Official SIMI new car registration figures, which count only brand-new vehicles, provide an independent check on the direction of travel. They tell a consistent story: new diesel registrations fell by an estimated 22% year-on-year in H1 2026, a steeper decline than the 17% fall in diesel-specific search on DoneDeal Cars, while new electric vehicle registrations rose 48% year-on-year, according to SIMI which is strong growth, though not as fast as the 78% rise in EV-specific search recorded on DoneDeal Cars over the same period.
Diesel-specific make searches, year-on-year change, H1 2025 to H1 2026
Model and body-type preferences within diesel are also diverging from the category’s overall decline. Volkswagen Golf-specific diesel searches fell 7% — a notably smaller drop than diesel overall — remaining the single most-searched diesel model. Saloon-specific diesel searches held up best of any body type (down 10%), comfortably outperforming Hatchback (-14%), Estate (-16%) and SUV (-20%) within the same falling category. Geographically, diesel search in Dublin and Cork fell roughly in line with the national decline, with no significant shift in geographic concentration.
Petrol: Volkswagen Extends Its Lead
Petrol-specific searches rose 6% year-on-year overall, but Volkswagen pulled further ahead of the pack: Volkswagen-specific petrol searches rose 17%, close to three times the overall category growth. BMW-specific petrol searches rose 10% and Toyota rose 4%, while Audi was essentially flat and Ford-specific petrol searches fell 5% against the wider trend.
Petrol-specific make searches, year-on-year change, H1 2025 to H1 2026
The Volkswagen Golf continues to lead the charge: Golf-specific petrol searches rose 16% year-on-year, comfortably ahead of the petrol category’s overall growth, while Volkswagen Polo-specific petrol searches rose 30%. Saloon-specific petrol searches grew fastest of any body type (+11%), ahead of SUV (+8%), Estate (+7%) and Hatchback (+7%) — though Hatchback remains the single most-searched petrol body type by far. Petrol search also grew fastest in Cork (+17%) and rose 9% in Dublin, both outpacing the category overall and pointing to strengthening urban demand.
Electric: Every Model Rising, One Surging Ahead
The acceleration in electric search is broad-based, and it has intensified since the ICE2EV scrappage scheme was announced. Every one of the most-searched EV models grew year-on-year across H1 2026, but the rate of growth varied enormously. The Hyundai Kona, Ireland’s most-searched EV for at least two years running, grew a healthy 66%, and the Volkswagen ID.4 grew 82% to hold second place. The standout is the Skoda Enyaq: Enyaq-specific searches surged 168% year-on-year, climbing from ninth to third place and comfortably outpacing every rival.
EV model searches, year-on-year change, H1 2025 to H1 2026
The models driving that growth are overwhelmingly crossovers and SUVs in shape. With the exception of the hatchback-styled Nissan Leaf and the more compact Volkswagen ID.3, every model in the top eight is a crossover or SUV and that has been true for at least two years, with SUV consistently the dominant body type specified in electric vehicle searches.
Body Type: Diverging Fortunes Within Diesel and Petrol
Body-type trends inside diesel and petrol searches are moving in opposite directions. Within diesel, Saloon-specific searches held up best against the category’s overall decline, while SUV-specific diesel searches fell hardest. Within petrol, every body type grew, led by Saloon and SUV, with Hatchback — still the single most-searched petrol body type — growing more modestly.
Body type searches by fuel type, year-on-year change, H1 2025 to H1 2026
“What we are seeing is the effects of both the carrot and the stick on consumer behaviour when it comes to EVs. Electric search was already up 78% for the half on DoneDeal Cars, but the day the Government announced the ICE2EV scrappage scheme, we saw that it accelerated sharply and June alone was up 115% year-on-year. And we saw similar spikes earlier in the year when fuel prices reached a record high. Our own survey of drivers in the days after the announcement found three-quarters were already aware of it, so the search data and the sentiment data are telling the same story. Diesel-specific search fell 17% over the same half, but that decline hides some real winners: Volkswagen, Skoda and BMW are all losing less ground than Audi and Mercedes-Benz, and BMW has overtaken Audi as the second most-searched diesel make. On the electric side, every model on DoneDeal Cars grew, but the Skoda Enyaq is in a different league entirely, up 168% year-on-year.”
Paddy Comyn, Head of Automotive Content and Communications, DoneDeal Cars
Bonus Trend: Convertible Season Has Arrived
Separate DoneDeal Cars data tracking body-type search interest month by month through 2026 shows a clear seasonal pattern taking hold. Convertible searches, flat in January, had more than doubled by June (+107.8%) before easing slightly to +101.1% in July. Coupe searches have climbed steadily all year (+32.1% by July) and MPV searches jumped sharply in the most recent month (+79.2%), while SUV search interest has drifted gradually lower across the same period (-8.7%).