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Methodology Previous Releases
International comparison:
See also:
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For more information on this release:
E-mail: transport@cso.ie Noreen Dorgan +353 21 453 5260 Brendan Curtin +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 2016

New vehiclesFebruaryJanuary - February
 20152016Change20152016Change
New private cars15,38421,1735,78937.6%35,48948,27912,79036.0%
New goods vehicles2,5603,8151,25549.0%4,6106,6041,99443.3%
Total new vehicles19,13426,1847,05036.8%42,28657,33415,04835.6%

Increase of 37.6% in new private cars licensed in February

Figure 1 VLFTM - New private cars licensed for the first time
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In February 2016, 21,173 new private cars were licensed for the first time, an increase of 37.6% compared with February 2015. A total of 5,077 used (imported) private cars were licensed, representing a rise of 9.7% on the same month last year.

In the first two months of 2016, 48,279 new private cars were licensed, a rise of 36.0% compared with the same period last year. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed rose by 3.5% compared with the same period in 2015.

The licensing figures also show that:

  • Toyota (2,378) was the most popular make of new private cars licensed in February, followed by Hyundai (2,216), Ford (2,185), Volkswagen (2,113) and Nissan (2,103). Together these five makes represent 51.9% of all new private cars licensed. See table 3.
  • In the first two months of 2016, seven out of every ten (69.9%) new private cars licensed were diesel fuelled, while 96.2% of new private cars licensed in the same period were in the A/B CO2 emissions bands. See table 2B.
  • The total number of new vehicles licensed during February 2016 was 26,184 compared with 19,134 during the same month in 2015, an increase of 36.8%. See table 1.
  • There was a 49.0% increase in the number of new goods vehicles licensed in February 2016, bringing the total to 3,815. See table 1.
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.
Most popular makes of new cars, February 2015
Toyota 10.5
Hyundai 7
Ford 10.7
Volkswagen 15.5
Nissan 11.1
Other45.2
Most popular makes of new cars, February 2016
Toyota 11.2
Hyundai 10.5
Ford 10.3
Volkswagen 10
Nissan 9.9
Other48.1
Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassFebruary January - February
201420152016 201420152016
New vehicles       
New private cars 11,90615,38421,173 27,88135,48948,279
New goods vehicles 1,6202,5603,815 3,0104,6106,604
New tractors 217172195 469369452
New motorcycles 6475127 152190289
New exempt vehicles 608827700 1,1171,3941,390
New other 132116174 246234320
Total new vehicles 14,54719,13426,184 32,87542,28657,334
        
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 4,5374,6265,077 8,5038,6278,925
Used goods vehicles 695766711 1,4691,4231,350
Used tractors 222137138 464276264
Used motorcycles 9486100 167170207
Used other vehicles 324261283 642546509
Total used vehicles 5,8725,8766,309 11,24511,04211,255
        
Total all vehicles 20,41925,01032,493 44,12053,32868,589
Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, February 2016
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in hybrid electricOther
A 3,75212,38892271023116,527
B 1,9431,9370490013,930
C 12833300000461
D 228900100112
E 8840000092
F 6370000043
G 21000003
Not available05000005
Total5,86114,87492320123221,173
Table 2B: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January-February 2016
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in hybrid electricOther
A 8,72928,013124682160337,612
B 4,4424,2900970038,832
C 267923010001,191
D 7421000100285
E 1719800000215
F 2110300000124
G 770000014
Not available06000006
Total13,55733,750124780260648,279
Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, February 2016
MakeFebruary January - February
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
        
Audi 8303921,2221,7666762,442
BMW 6332859181,7225052,227
Citroen 184184368381344725
Dacia 48354881,210101,220
Fiat 962211818841229
Ford 2,1856962,8815,5361,2856,821
Honda 2381734116943101,004
Hyundai 2,2162302,4465,6213856,006
Jaguar 56359113347180
Kia 1,0901231,2132,2602002,460
Land Rover 1971321045928487
Lexus 932411723645281
Mazda 400864861,0661511,217
Mercedes Benz 4541706241,1443061,450
Mini 984514325083333
Mitsubishi 1401415438437421
Nissan 2,1032202,3234,0283884,416
Opel 1,11311,1142,23632,239
Peugeot 5702848541,3694961,865
Renault 1,0221221,1442,1242102,334
Seat 5455059588981970
Skoda 1,4061081,5142,9451793,124
Ssangyong 2802865267
Subaru 20727431053
Suzuki 1693320236571436
Toyota 2,3784292,8076,0447116,755
Vauxhall 05005000848848
Volkswagen 2,1136892,8024,4811,2285,709
Volvo 28784371589140729
Other 26537951105156
Total 21,1735,07726,250 48,2798,92557,204
        
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.  

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

Second-hand:  The term 'second-hand vehicles' in this release, refers to imported used vehicles which are licensed for use in a public place, in this country, for the first time.

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.

Electric hybrid:  means a vehicle that derives its motive power from a combination of an electric motor and an internal combustion engine and is capable of being driven on electric propulsion alone for a material part of its normal driving cycle.

Plug-in electric hybrid:  means a vehicle that derives its motive power from a combination of an electric motor and an internal combustion engine, where the electric motor derives its power from a battery that may be charged from the internal combustion engine and an alternating current (AC) electric mains supply and is capable of being driven on electric propulsion alone for a material part of its normal driving cycle.

 

 

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