Back to Top

 Skip navigation

Extra information
Methodology Previous Releases
International comparison:
See also:
YouTube Video
For more information on this release:
E-mail: transport@cso.ie Noreen Dorgan +353 21 453 5260 Jim Dalton +353 21 453 5120
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5678
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Vehicles licensed for the first time

February 2014

New vehiclesFebruaryJanuary - February
 20132014Change20132014Change
New private cars9,67111,9062,23523.1%20,40627,8817,47536.6%
New goods vehicles1,1201,62050044.6%1,9933,0101,01751.0%
Total new vehicles11,51814,5473,02926.3%23,83432,8759,04137.9%

Increase of 23.1% in new private cars licensed in February

Figure 1 VLFTM - New private cars licensed for the first time
go to full release

The number of new private cars licensed for the first time increased by 23.1% to11,906 in February 2014 compared to February 2013. Used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time were up 22.1% to 4,537 for the same period.

In total, there were 27,881 new private cars licensed in the year to the end of February 2014, a rise of 36.6% compared to the same period in 2013. The corresponding figure for 2014 in respect of used (imported) private cars was 8,503 and this was up 32.9% from 2013.

The licensing figures also show that:

  • The number of new goods vehicles licensed in February 2014 was 1,620, up 44.6% from February 2013. See Table 1 below.
  • The total number of all new vehicles licensed during February 2014 was 14,547 compared with 11,518 during the same month in 2013 - an increase of 26.3%.
  • In February 2014, of the 11,906 new private cars licensed, 2,902 (24.4%) were petrol and 8,850 (74.3%) were diesel. See Table 2A below.
  • The highest number of new private cars licensed in February 2014, classified by make, was Volkswagen (1,432) followed by Toyota (1,262), Ford (1,135) and Opel (1,102). See Table 3 below.
  • In February 2014, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 20,419 compared with 16,177 in the corresponding month last year - an increase of 26.2%. See Table 1 below.

The licensing figures refer to vehicles taxed for road use only and classified by taxation class.

Licensing differs from registration in that a vehicle is licensed when a valid motor tax disc is issued for the first time. Registration occurs when a vehicle gets its licence plate (registration number) for the first time.

Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassFebruary January - February
201220132014 201220132014
New vehicles       
New private cars 10,9939,67111,906 25,50020,40627,881
New goods vehicles 1,4551,1201,620 2,5371,9933,010
New tractors 198173217 432379469
New motorcycles 978064 187162152
New exempt vehicles 527412608 9307741,117
New other 12762132 203120246
Total new vehicles 13,39711,51814,547 29,78923,83432,875
        
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 3,3123,7174,537 5,9366,3988,503
Used goods vehicles 415489695 7378831,469
Used tractors 162120222 330223464
Used motorcycles 1009094 170156167
Used other vehicles 222243324 416497642
Total used vehicles 4,2114,6595,872 7,5898,15711,245
        
Total all vehicles 17,60816,17720,419 37,37831,99144,120
Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, February 2014
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
A 1,7316,32810804008,207
B 1,1122,04440003,160
C 472462000295
D 877000085
E 338000041
F 01070000107
G 19000010
Not available10100001
Total2,9028,850114040011,906
        
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Table 2B: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January-February 2014
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
A 4,12014,4033360651318,937
B 2,3955,195200007,610
C 995906000695
D 302170000247
E 10990000109
F 02600000260
G 318000021
Not available10200002
Total6,65720,7843620651327,881
        
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, February 2014
MakeFebruary January - February
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
Audi 595401996 1,2227561,978
BMW 468326794 1,0985941,692
Chevrolet 000 055
Citroen 140193333 355382737
Fiat 701888 15145196
Ford 1,1357121,847 2,7101,3324,042
Honda 15593248 435171606
Hyundai 9651501,115 2,5372582,795
Kia 54065605 1,3131281,441
Lexus 371148 13023153
Mazda 21864282 581115696
Mercedes-Benz 250110360 680208888
Mitsubishi 8618104 21537252
Nissan 7832291,012 1,5324301,962
Opel 1,10231,105 1,84831,851
Peugeot 352241593 9524621,414
Renault 461172633 1,1152971,412
Seat 39853451 69388781
Skoda 835118953 1,9301952,125
Subaru 15318 43548
Suzuki 811697 20929238
Toyota 1,2623871,649 3,6167504,366
Vauxhall 0422422 0798798
Volkswagen 1,4324991,931 3,1519694,120
Volvo 14884232 320139459
Other 378149527 1,0452841,329
Total 11,9064,53716,443 27,8818,50336,384
        
1 The information in this table is available in much greater detail in Databases (see Statbank link below)

Background Notes

Source

The vehicle licensing figures are compiled from data supplied by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, Driver and Vehicle Computer Services Division. The data provide details on the number of private cars, goods vehicles, motor cycles and other vehicles licensed for the first time in each city and county council, classified by make and size, during a given month.

History

The release titled 'Vehicles licensed for the first time' commenced in January 1993. It replaced the series previously published as 'Particulars of vehicles registered and licensed for the first time'.

In January 1993, separate systems for vehicle registration and licensing were introduced. The Office of the Revenue Commissioners became responsible for the compilation of vehicle registrations while the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government retained responsibility for vehicle licensing. In January 2008, responsibility for vehicle licensing was transferred to the Department of Transport (which later became the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport).

For new cars registered from 1 July 2008 motor tax charges are determined on the basis of the CO2 emission level, based on seven CO2 bands.  Tables with CO2 emission data were added to this release from July 2008. A further such table was added in November 2008.

The licensing process where applicable follows the registration process.

Vehicle licensing versus vehicle registration

Registration and licensing figures may differ in a given month for a number of reasons, some of which are outlined below:

  • Vehicles which under the previous system would have been licensed in the latter part of a particular month may not now be licensed until a later month because of the time lapse between registration and first licensing.
  • Registered vehicles which are not used in a public place (e.g. tractors for use exclusively on the land) may not need to be licensed.

The question is often asked, which reflects better vehicle sales, licensing figures or registration figures?

In practice, on a monthly basis, the licensing data is probably a better reflection of sales. In some cases, a vehicle may be registered by a dealership in advance of a sale. Whereas, typically, vehicles are only licensed at the point of sale.  However, if a vehicle is purchased towards the end of a month, the buyer may wish to defer collecting and licensing it until the start of the following month. So the issue is not clear-cut.

From 31 October 1999, detailed information on agricultural vehicles is no longer published in accordance with Commission Decision 92/157/EEC as upheld on 28 May 1998.

Definitions

Exempt:  The term 'exempt vehicles' in this release, refers to vehicles which are licensed for the first time but are exempt from liability to pay road tax.

Exempt vehicles can be divided into four main categories:

  • State-owned
  • Diplomatic
  • Fire services
  • Disabled drivers

Machines or contrivances:  Vehicles included under this category are mobile machines, forklifts, excavators and diggers.

upArrowHide Background Notes