08 July 2020
Go to release: Vehicles licensed for the first time June 2020
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (8 July 2020) published Vehicle Licensing figures for June 2020. These figures are based on the National Vehicle and Driver File compiled by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
Today’s publication shows that the number of new cars licensed for the first time in June 2020 was 2,189 compared to 3,858 in June 2019, a drop of 43.3%. The number of new cars licensed in the first six months of 2020 was 49,184 compared to 77,639 in 2019.
Commenting on the data, Olive Loughnane, Statistician, said:
‘The impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the number of vehicles licensed continued to be felt in the month of June 2020. In the first six months of this year, the number of new cars licensed was 28,455 lower than in the same period of 2019, a drop of 36.7%. However, the number of new cars licensed in June 2020 is up on May 2020, from 1,490 to 2,189. Typically, there is a decline in the number of cars licensed in June compared to May due to seasonal factors.
Comparing today’s CSO figures with the recently published Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) figures, it is important to note that more than two thirds of new cars licensed in June 2020 were registered before June.'
Further commenting on the results, Olive Loughnane said:
‘Today’s figures from the CSO also show the continued growth in the number of electric and hybrid vehicles licensed in Ireland. Despite the drop of more than 36.7% in the overall number of new cars licensed from January to June 2020, the number of new hybrid cars licensed grew by 1.9% from 7,207 to 7,343. There were over 50% more electric cars licensed in the first six months of 2020 than the number of those licensed during the 12 months of 2018.’
New car registrations, as reported by SIMI, fell to 1,011 in May 2020. From January to June 2020, there was a decrease of 33.3% in the number of cars registered to 52,891 compared with 79,350 for the same period in 2019.
The monthly licensing (CSO) figures and the registration figures (SIMI) differ due to the different dates on which a vehicle is registered (number plate) and licensed (tax disc). A vehicle may be registered by a dealership in advance of a sale, and vehicles which are registered in a given month may not be licensed until a later month.
Vehicle registration
A vehicle is registered when the vehicle registration tax due on the vehicle is paid to the Revenue Commissioners. Revenue then issue a registration number for the vehicle.
Vehicle licensing
A vehicle is licensed when the annual car tax due on the vehicle is paid for the first time.
Olive Loughnane (+353) 21 453 5281
or email transport@cso.ie
or email olive.loughnane@cso.ie
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