Every Friday, we run a snapshot of every active used-car listing on Autoza — make, model, year, price, mileage, transmission, fuel. This is a live snapshot of the Irish dealer market as of 16 May 2026. The patterns inside that dataset are more useful than any headline number you'll read this week.
The headline numbers
- Verified Irish dealers, each with a public Trust Score
- Average mileage: 102,490 km across the dataset
- Average asking price: ~€22,800 (median around €18,500)
- Year-of-reg sweet spot: 2018–2019, followed by 2023
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 now very narrow. 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 averages €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 dataset:
- Automatic — 57%
- Manual — 43%
- Other / CVT / unspecified — under 1%
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. 2018–2019 cars clearly outnumber 2020–2022 ones. 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
