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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

May 2015

New vehiclesMay January - May
 20142015Change 20142015Change
New private cars7,7679,0271,26016.2% 58,89074,73615,84626.9%
New goods vehicles1,5742,13456035.6% 7,67911,5613,88250.6%
Total new vehicles10,25012,0791,82917.8% 71,30191,48920,18828.3%

Increase of 16.2% in new private cars licensed in May

Figure 1 VLFTM - New private cars licensed for the first time
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There were 9,027 new private cars licensed for the first time in May 2015, an increase of 16.2% compared with May 2014. A total of 3,748 used (imported) private cars were licensed, representing a fall of 24.2% on the same month last year.

In the first five months of 2015, there were 74,736 new private cars licensed, a rise of 26.9% compared with the same period last year. There was a decrease of 9.7% in used (imported) private cars licensed compared with the same period in 2014.

 

 

The licensing figures also show that:

  • The most popular make of new private cars licensed for the first time in May 2015 was Volkswagen (1,223), followed by Toyota (826), Ford (783), Hyundai (697) and Nissan (667). See figure above and table 3.
  • There was a 35.6% increase in the number of new goods vehicles licensed in May 2015, an increase of 560 vehicles bringing the total to 2,134. See table 1.
  • The total number of new vehicles licensed during May 2015 was 12,079 compared with 10,250 during the same month in 2014, an increase of 17.8%.  See table 1.
  • In May 2015, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 17,212 compared with 16,799 in the corresponding month last year, an increase of 2.5%. See table 1.
  • Volkswagen (9,301) was also the most popular make of new private cars licensed in the first five months of 2015, followed by Toyota (8,009), Ford (7,357), Nissan (6,916) and Hyundai (6,814). See table 3.
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, May 2014
Volkswagen 12.1
Toyota 10.9
Ford12.3
Hyundai8
Nissan6
Other50.7
Most popular makes of new cars, May 2015
Volkswagen 13.5
Toyota 9.2
Ford8.7
Hyundai 7.7
Nissan7.4
Other53.5
Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassMay January - May
201320142015 201320142015
New vehicles       
New private cars 7,0957,7679,027 46,21058,89074,736
New goods vehicles 1,1741,5742,134 5,3537,67911,561
New tractors 217273225 9371,154975
New motorcycles 72107133 397451604
New exempt vehicles 432422441 2,1772,5422,959
New other 80107119 339585654
Total new vehicles 9,07010,25012,079 55,41371,30191,489
        
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 4,6014,9453,748 19,51023,09920,863
Used goods vehicles 602743680 2,5473,8123,694
Used tractors 158254175 6141,154741
Used motorcycles 183193183 610662657
Used other vehicles 382414347 1,4601,8121,536
Total used vehicles 5,9266,5495,133 24,74130,53927,491
        
Total all vehicles 14,99616,79917,212 80,154101,840118,980
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time May 2015 Table 1 (XLS 33KB)
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Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, May 2015
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
        
A 1,5124,63762036116,258
B 8481,416120032,279
C 512022000255
D 1274000086
E 5980000103
F 337000040
G 3100004
Not available11100002
        
Total2,4356,46676036149,027
        
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time May 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-May 2015
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
        
A 13,62138,483619030411453,141
B 6,42111,57412900918,133
C 3751,62570002,007
D 786040000682
E 194310000450
F 202701000291
G 149000023
Not available12700009
        
Total20,55053,003756030412374,736
        
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time May 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, May 2015
MakeMay January - May
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
        
Audi 421307728 3,1451,7034,848
BMW 339234573 2,5831,3033,886
Chevrolet 044 01212
Citroen 193162355 1,2358572,092
Dacia3573360 1,944131,957
Fiat 521567 33695431
Ford 7835421,325 7,3573,06610,423
Honda 141122263 8406121,452
Hyundai 697125822 6,8146727,486
Kia 40467471 3,3693963,765
Lexus 361046 31868386
Mazda 12668194 1,2473721,619
Mercedes-Benz 217118335 1,6586402,298
Mitsubishi 532073 529117646
Nissan 667169836 6,9169217,837
Opel 5576563 4,362134,375
Peugeot 331187518 2,2601,0723,332
Renault 441125566 3,6116064,217
Seat 20842250 1,7332131,946
Skoda 55688644 4,5744915,065
Subaru 19524 10620126
Suzuki 632588 366123489
Toyota 8263001,126 8,0091,5599,568
Vauxhall 0371371 12,2662,267
Volkswagen 1,2234651,688 9,3012,72012,021
Volvo 9853151 8533061,159
Other 219115334 1,2696271,896
        
Total 9,0273,74812,775 74,73620,86395,599
        
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 May 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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http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/vlftm/vehicleslicensedforthefirsttimemay2015/

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