Every Friday, we run a snapshot of every active used-car listing on Autoza — make, model, year, price, mileage, transmission, fuel. As of 16 May 2026, that's 2,241 listings from 68 verified Irish dealers. The patterns inside that dataset are more useful than any headline number you'll read this week.
The headline numbers
- 2,241 active listings from verified Irish dealers
- 68 dealers with public Trust Scores
- Average mileage: 102,490 km across the dataset
- Average asking price: ~€22,800 (median around €18,500)
- Year-of-reg sweet spot: 2018–2019 (441 listings combined), followed by 2023 (238)
We pull this fresh every week. The numbers below are accurate as of the dataset snapshot on 16 May 2026.
1 · Volkswagen still leads — but Skoda is closer than people think
The top 10 makes by listing volume:
| Rank | Make | Listings | Avg asking price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volkswagen | 263 | €18,043 |
| 2 | Skoda | 230 | €31,862 |
| 3 | Nissan | 203 | €24,582 |
| 4 | BMW | 197 | €24,541 |
| 5 | Ford | 164 | €15,654 |
| 6 | Audi | 154 | €21,509 |
| 7 | Toyota | 138 | €18,579 |
| 8 | Mercedes-Benz | 102 | €25,769 |
| 9 | Peugeot | 95 | €17,046 |
| 10 | SEAT | 81 | €25,748 |
The VW–Skoda gap is only 33 listings. If you've been tracking the Irish market for a decade, that's a striking signal — Skoda has crept from "value brand" to nearly co-leader, and its average asking price (€31,862) is now the highest in the top 5. The Kodiaq alone accounts for 43 listings at an average of €43,911.
For buyers: if you're comparing a 2021 Octavia to a 2021 Passat, the Skoda will almost always carry a small premium in May 2026 — not a discount.
2 · Automatic has overtaken manual
Across the 2,241-listing dataset:
- Automatic: 1,243 listings (57%)
- Manual: 978 listings (43%)
- Other / CVT / unspecified: 20
For Irish buyers raised on manual gearboxes, this is a real shift. The crossover has happened, driven by the SUV mix at the top of the listing volume table (Qashqai 67, Kodiaq 43, Tucson 43, Karoq 31, Sportage 27) — most of these come with automatic-only or automatic-preferred configurations on later years.
For buyers: manual is now the harder gearbox to find at sub-€15k. If you want a manual for cost or fuel-economy reasons, filter early — the supply is thinning.
3 · The 2018–2019 cliff is real
Distribution of listings by year-of-registration:
| Year | Listings |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 119 |
| 2025 | 115 |
| 2024 | 124 |
| 2023 | 238 |
| 2022 | 189 |
| 2021 | 159 |
| 2020 | 139 |
| 2019 | 213 |
| 2018 | 228 |
| 2017 | 194 |
| 2016 | 212 |
That dip in 2020–2022 is the COVID-era new-car shortage echoing into Ireland's used market. There are 441 listings from 2018–2019 vs only 487 across 2020–2022 combined. If you're targeting that 5–7 year-old sweet spot for value, the 2018–2019 cohort has 3× the choice of equivalent-age cars from the COVID years.
For buyers: a 2019 with a known maintenance history is currently better value than a 2021 with the same mileage — pure supply economics.
4 · Electric is still niche — and the price gap is wider than you'd think
The fuel-type breakdown (cleaned for case-inconsistent labels — full data in the appendix):
| Fuel type | Listings | Avg price |
|---|---|---|
| Diesel | ~1,000 | €19–21k |
| Petrol | ~780 | €17–18k |
| Petrol Hybrid | 128 | €21,253 |
| Electric | 83 | €32,457 |
| Plug-in Hybrid | ~97 | €34–39k |
| Hybrid (mild) | 72 | €30,062 |
EVs are 3.7% of all active used listings on Autoza. That's well below the share of EVs in new registrations — meaning the used-EV market is still 2–3 years behind the new-EV story you read about every month.
The EV average price (€32,457) is roughly €13,000 higher than the diesel average. Even accounting for newer year-of-reg in the EV pool, the depreciation curve is steeper than headline numbers suggest. We've published a separate deep-dive on the used-EV market: Ireland's used-EV reality check.
5 · Top 10 models — what Irish dealers are actually selling
| Rank | Make / model | Listings | Avg price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | VW Golf | 88 | €16,355 |
| 2 | Nissan Qashqai | 67 | €26,192 |
| 3 | Skoda Octavia | 59 | €29,036 |
| 4 | VW Polo | 55 | €12,647 |
| 5 | BMW 5 Series | 48 | €23,270 |
| 6 | Skoda Kodiaq | 43 | €43,911 |
| 7 | Hyundai Tucson | 43 | €22,283 |
| 8 | BMW 3 Series | 37 | €23,356 |
| 9 | Ford Focus | 36 | €14,013 |
| 10 | BMW 1 Series | 35 | €15,431 |
The Golf is still the people's car. The Qashqai is the people's SUV. Together they account for 7% of every listing in the country on Autoza. Brand loyalty is still real in Ireland — three of the top 10 are BMWs.
What this means for buyers in May 2026
- Don't pay the 2021–2022 COVID premium. A 2018–2019 with a clean service history is the value zone.
- Filter for manual early if that's your preference — supply is thinning fast.
- EVs require a 5-year math check. Don't assume parity yet — the used market hasn't caught up to the new-reg narrative.
- Skoda is no longer cheap. It's mid-premium now. Adjust your mental price tag.
What this means for dealers
If you're stocking for the next 90 days:
- 2018–2019 stock turns fastest. Sourcing here is the priority.
- Automatic SUVs in the €20–30k band are the densest demand cluster.
- Manual hatchbacks under €15k have low supply and steady demand — a thin but reliable segment.
How we collect this data
This dataset is generated weekly from every active, dealer-verified listing on autoza.ie. We don't include private-seller listings (Autoza is dealer-only). All dealers are pre-verified and carry a public Trust Score.
If you publish this analysis or any chart from it, please cite autoza.ie/blog/state-of-irish-used-car-market-may-2026 and use the data as published. We update the snapshot every Friday.
FAQ
Q: How does Autoza collect this data?
A: We query our own listings database, which contains every active listing from verified Irish dealers on autoza.ie. The snapshot is taken every Friday and reflects only active, dealer-verified listings — no private sellers, no expired listings.
Q: How does this compare to national new-car registrations?
A: This dataset reflects the used market specifically. National new-car registration data (published monthly by SIMI) covers new sales only. Comparing the two reveals lag patterns — for example, the EV gap between new sales and used supply.
Q: Why is the Skoda Kodiaq so much more expensive than other SUVs?
A: The Kodiaq is a 7-seater premium SUV that holds value strongly in the Irish market, particularly newer (post-2022) units. The €43,911 average reflects an active listing pool weighted toward 2022–2024 stock.
Q: Are these prices negotiable?
A: Asking prices on Autoza are dealer-set. Real transaction prices typically settle 3–8% below asking depending on stock age, model and time of year. Use Mark AI on any listing to ask about flexibility.
Next snapshot: 23 May 2026. We update this analysis every Friday.
— The Autoza Team · Autoza.ie
