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Methodology Previous Releases
International comparison:
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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 2015

New vehiclesFebruaryJanuary - February
 20142015Change20142015Change
New private cars11,90615,3843,47829.2%27,88135,4897,60827.3%
New goods vehicles1,6202,56094058.0%3,0104,6101,60053.2%
Total new vehicles14,54719,1344,58731.5%32,87542,2869,41128.6%

Increase of 29.2% in new private cars licensed in February

Figure 1 VLFTM - New private cars licensed for the first time
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The number of new private cars licensed for the first time increased by 29.2% to 15,384 in February 2015 compared to February 2014. The corresponding figure for February 2015 in respect of used (imported) private cars was 4,626 and this was up 2.0% from February 2014.

In total, there were 35,489 new private cars licensed in the year to the end of February 2015, a rise of 27.3% compared to the same period in 2014. The corresponding figure for 2015 in respect of used (imported) private cars was 8,627 and this was up 1.5% from 2014.

The licensing figures also show that:

  • The number of new goods vehicles licensed in February 2015 was 2,560, up 58.0% from February 2014. See Table 1 below.
  • The total number of all new vehicles licensed during February 2015 was 19,134 compared with 14,547 during the same month in 2014 - an increase of 31.5%.  See Table 1 below.
  • The highest number of new private cars licensed in February 2015, classified by make, was Volkswagen (2,389) followed by Nissan (1,701), Ford (1,640) and Toyota (1,615). See Table 3 below.
  • For the year to the end of February 2015, Toyota ranked highest with 4,523 for new private cars.  This was followed by Volkswagen (4,273), Ford (3,885) and Nissan (3,219). See Table 3 below.
  • In February 2015, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 25,010 compared with 20,419 in the corresponding month last year - an increase of 22.5%.  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
201320142015 201320142015
New vehicles       
New private cars 9,67111,90615,384 20,40627,88135,489
New goods vehicles 1,1201,6202,560 1,9933,0104,610
New tractors 173217172 379469369
New motorcycles 806475 162152190
New exempt vehicles 412608827 7741,1171,394
New other 62132116 120246234
Total new vehicles 11,51814,54719,134 23,83432,87542,286
        
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 3,7174,5374,626 6,3988,5038,627
Used goods vehicles 489695766 8831,4691,423
Used tractors 120222137 223464276
Used motorcycles 909486 156167170
Used other vehicles 243324261 497642546
Total used vehicles 4,6595,8725,876 8,15711,24511,042
        
Total all vehicles 16,17720,41925,010 31,99144,12053,328
Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, February 2015
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
A 2,8808,1941300722211,298
B 1,2362,202330003,471
C 732902000365
D 221010000123
E 455000059
F 556000061
G 3200005
Not available10200002
Total4,22310,9021650722215,384
        
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 2015
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
A 6,38418,33536601406325,288
B 2,8075,693690008,569
C 16387230001,038
D 362710000307
E 111420000153
F 91110000120
G 74000011
Not available10300003
Total9,41725,43143801406335,489
        
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 2015
MakeFebruary January - February
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
Audi 6723581,030 1,4946722,166
BMW 550311861 1,2865651,851
Chevrolet 022 044
Citroen 206209415 493360853
Dacia2851286 7653768
Fiat 632285 13941180
Ford 1,6407042,344 3,8851,2575,142
Honda 106130236 362238600
Hyundai 1,0811281,209 3,1332843,417
Kia 61099709 1,6491761,825
Lexus 761894 17224196
Mazda 22584309 633150783
Mercedes-Benz 405143548 9022631,165
Mitsubishi 11223135 29153344
Nissan 1,7011991,900 3,2193843,603
Opel 7941795 1,68231,685
Peugeot 465224689 1,0604551,515
Renault 575112687 1,3632341,597
Seat 41846464 89389982
Skoda 9711181,089 2,1412012,342
Subaru 13720 441054
Suzuki 492776 17747224
Toyota 1,6153331,948 4,5236445,167
Vauxhall 0523523 0959959
Volkswagen 2,3896032,992 4,2731,1175,390
Volvo 15768225 409143552
Other 206133339 501251752
Total 15,3844,62620,010 35,4898,62744,116
        
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

Vehicle 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 license plate (registration number) for the first time. Registration precedes licensing and the time lapse between both can account for the differences which can occur between licensing and registration figures in a given month. 

The question is often asked, which best reflects 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.

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X-axis label20182019
Jan2581322279
Feb1650114178
Mar1608814404
Apr1155713794
May9362
Jun3716
Jul20743
Aug7681
Sep4397
Oct2874
Nov1647
Dec778