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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

July 2015

New vehiclesJuly January - July
 20142015Change 20142015Change
New private cars14,03721,2907,25351.7% 76,31799,95023,63331.0%
New goods vehicles1,5792,42985053.8% 10,35915,8405,48152.9%
Total new vehicles16,73624,8948,15848.7% 93,160122,76329,60331.8%

Increase of 51.7% in new private cars licensed in July

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

In July 2015, 21,290 new private cars were licensed for the first time, an increase of 51.7% compared with July 2014. A total of 4,075 used (imported) private cars were licensed, representing a fall of 16.5% on the same month last year.

The number of new private cars licensed in July surpassed the January figures for the first time since the introduction of the dual licensing system in 2013.

In the first seven months of 2015, 99,950 new private cars were licensed, a rise of 31.0% compared with the same period last year. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed fell by 11.6% compared with the same period in 2014.

The licensing figures also show that:

  • Hyundai (2,554) was the most popular make of new private cars licensed in July, followed by Toyota (2,274), Volkswagen (2,237), Nissan (2,111) and Ford (2,110). Together these five makes represent just over half (53.0%) of all new private cars licensed. See table 3.
  • In the first seven months of 2015, seven out of every ten (70.9%) new private cars licensed were diesel, while 95.6% 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 July 2015 was 24,894 compared with 16,736 during the same month in 2014, an increase of 48.7%.  See table 1.
  • There was a 53.8% increase in the number of new goods vehicles licensed in July 2015, an increase of 850 vehicles bringing the total to 2,429. 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 for July 2014
Hyundai 10.4
Toyota 11.2
Volkswagen11.3
Nissan7.2
Ford11.4
Other48.5
Most popular makes of new cars, for July 2015
Hyundai 12
Toyota 10.7
Volkswagen10.5
Nissan9.9
Ford9.9
Other47
Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassJuly January - July
201320142015 201320142015
New vehicles
New private cars 9,30614,03721,290 58,80976,31799,950
New goods vehicles 9531,5792,429 7,05110,35915,840
New tractors 248196185 1,3761,5511,358
New motorcycles 104131156 563685871
New exempt vehicles 527685679 2,9493,4823,833
New other 90108155 502766911
Total new vehicles 11,22816,73624,894 71,25093,160122,763
       
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 4,5874,8794,075 28,28032,48028,703
Used goods vehicles 692751739 3,8695,2505,116
Used tractors 235206130 1,0091,5671,010
Used motorcycles 252196168 1,0151,0451,024
Used other vehicles 432443353 2,2172,6502,238
Total used vehicles 6,1986,4755,465 36,39042,99238,091
    
Total all vehicles 17,42623,21130,359 107,640136,152160,854
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time July 2015 Table 1 (XLS 32KB)
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Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, July 2015
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
        
A 3,80611,3032530612715,450
B 2,0273,032200095,088
C 673441000412
D 281501000179
E 781000088
F 1347000060
G 3600009
Not available10400004
        
Total5,95114,9672750613621,290
        
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time July 2015 Table 2A (XLS 32KB)
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Table 2B: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January-July 2015
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
        
A 18,06051,836901037814471,319
B 8,79615,215157001924,187
C 4542,08080002,542
D 1117951000907
E 275350000562
F 363391000376
G 1819000037
Not available1218000020
        
Total27,50470,8371,068037816399,950
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time July 2015 Table 2B (XLS 32KB)
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Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, July 2015
MakeJuly January - July
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
        
Audi 8063281,1344,0612,3176,378
BMW 7722179893,4811,7475,228
Chevrolet 05502323
Citroen 2591854441,5721,1842,756
Dacia65626582,836172,853
Fiat 10734141495155650
Ford 2,1105832,6939,8304,19114,021
Honda 2741003741,1428051,947
Hyundai 2,5541522,7069,52496510,489
Kia 974611,0354,5035305,033
Lexus 7898741697513
Mazda 428815091,7485252,273
Mercedes-Benz 3811265072,1038932,996
Mitsubishi 14617163699155854
Nissan 2,1112022,3139,2371,28310,520
Opel 1,28011,2815,889155,904
Peugeot 4912317222,8531,5214,374
Renault 9841071,0914,9128365,748
Seat 352403922,1562982,454
Skoda 1,259941,3536,0656746,739
Subaru 2722914028168
Suzuki 17833211563179742
Toyota 2,2743302,60410,6272,19812,825
Vauxhall 043143113,0803,081
Volkswagen 2,2375172,75412,2863,71916,005
Volvo 268523201,1784141,592
Other 2841354191,6338542,487
       
Total 21,2904,07525,365 99,95028,703128,653
        
The information in this table is available in much greater detail in Databases (see Statbank link below)
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time July 2015 Table 3 (XLS 34KB)
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Background Notes

Source

The vehicle licensing figures are compiled from data supplied by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS), 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 DTTAS).

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.

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 is issued with a license plate (registration number) for the first time. Registration precedes licensing and the time lapse between them accounts 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.

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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