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International comparison:
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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

January 2016

New VehiclesJanuary
 20152016Change
New private cars20,10527,1067,00134.8%
New goods vehicles2,0502,78973936.0%
Total new vehicles23,15231,1507,99834.5%

Increase of 34.8% in new private cars licensed in January

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 34.8% to 27,106 in January 2016 compared to January 2015.

The corresponding figure for January 2016 in respect of used (imported) private cars was 3,848 and this was down 3.8% from January 2015.

The licensing figures also show that:

  • The number of new goods vehicles licensed in January 2016 was 2,789, up 36.0% from January 2015. See Table 1 below.
  • The total number of all new vehicles licensed during January 2016 was 31,150 compared with 23,152 during the same month in 2015 - an increase of 34.5%.  See Table 1 below.
  • The highest number of new private cars licensed in January 2016, classified by make, was Toyota (3,666) followed by Hyundai (3,405), Ford (3,351), Volkswagen (2,368) and Nissan (1,925). See Table 3 below.
  • In January 2016, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 36,096 compared with 28,318 in the corresponding month last year - an increase of 27.5%.  See Table 1 below.
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, January 2015
Toyota 14.5
Hyundai 10.2
Ford 11.2
Volkswagen 9.4
Nissan 7.6
Other47.2
Most popular makes of new cars, January 2016
Toyota 13.5
Hyundai 12.6
Ford 12.4
Volkswagen 8.7
Nissan 7.1
Other45.7
Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassJanuary
 201420152016
New vehicles   
New private cars 15,97520,10527,106
New goods vehicles 1,3902,0502,789
New tractors 252197257
New motorcycles 88115162
New exempt vehicles 509567690
New other 114118146
Total new vehicles 18,32823,15231,150
    
Used (imported) vehicles   
Used private cars 3,9664,0013,848
Used goods vehicles 774657639
Used tractors 242139126
Used motorcycles 7384107
Used other vehicles 318285226
Total used vehicles 5,3735,1664,946
    
Total all vehicles 23,70128,31836,096
Table 2: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January 2016
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in hybrid electricDiesel & electric hybridElectricOther
A 4,97715,62541137132221,085
B 2,4992,3534800024,902
C 13959010000730
D 5212100000173
E 911400000123
F 15660000081
G 560000011
Not available01000001
Total7,69618,87646037132427,106
Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, January 2016
MakeJanuary
NewUsed (imported)Total
    
Audi 9362841,220
BMW 1,0892201,309
Citroen 197160357
Dacia 7275732
Fiat 9219111
Ford 3,3515893,940
Honda 456137593
Hyundai 3,4051553,560
Jaguar 771289
Kia 1,170771,247
Land Rover 26215277
Lexus 14321164
Mazda 66665731
Mercedes Benz 690136826
Mini 15238190
Mitsubishi 24423267
Nissan 1,9251682,093
Opel 1,12321,125
Peugeot 7992121,011
Renault 1,102881,190
Seat 34431375
Skoda 1,539711,610
Ssangyong 37239
Subaru 23326
Suzuki 19638234
Toyota 3,6662823,948
Vauxhall 0348348
Volkswagen 2,3685392,907
Volvo 30256358
z. Other 255277
z. Total 27,1063,84830,954
    
Footnote: 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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