Tourism, Transport & Travel Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2020

New vehicles licensed for the first time by taxation class

Table 23.1 New vehicles licensed for the first time by taxation class
Number
Taxation class		2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Private cars		76,256	71,348	92,361	121,110	141,931	127,045	121,157	113,305
Goods vehicles		10,855	11,024	16,254	22,939	28,051	24,101	25,459	24,645
Tractors		1,996	4,403	2,186	1,986	1,934	1,810	2,043	2,137
Motor cycles		955	878	960	1,244	1,546	1,431	1,556	1,848
Exempt vehicles		3,930	3,955	4,762	5,234	6,207	5,854	5,910	5,976
Public service vehicles		531	378	517	761	957	942	976	944
	Small	275	160	237	343	500	505	418	435
	Large	256	218	280	418	457	437	558	509
Machines or contrivances		409	606	399	409	444	424	472	547
Other classes		161	295	213	167	223	233	292	346
Total		95,093	92,887	117,652	153,850	181,293	161,840	157,865	149,748
Source: CSO

Open in Excel: Statistical Yearbook of Ireland, 2020 Table 23.1 (XLS 10KB)

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There were 113,305 new private cars licensed in 2019, a decrease of 6.5% compared with 2018. In total, there were 149,748 new vehicles licensed during 2018, a fall of 5.1% compared with 2018.

New vehicles licensed for the first time by licensing authority

Table 23.2 New vehicles licensed for the first time by licensing authority
Number
Licensing authority	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Carlow	1,149	1,152	1,461	1,828	2,212	1,925	2,011	1,745
Cavan	1,153	1,112	1,405	1,927	2,296	2,407	1,881	1,671
Clare	1,869	1,795	2,431	3,305	3,730	3,298	3,302	2,787
Cork	11,141	10,706	13,794	18,964	22,571	19,509	19,006	17,314
Donegal	2,193	2,051	2,723	3,643	4,282	3,499	3,249	2,889
Dublin	34,268	33,668	42,048	54,021	62,870	58,265	57,418	59,003
Galway	3,701	3,670	4,493	6,481	7,298	6,273	6,117	5,292
Kerry	2,193	1,953	2,554	3,420	4,218	3,651	3,536	3,172
Kildare	3,693	3,767	4,927	6,503	7,807	6,860	6,974	5,937
Kilkenny	1,864	1,825	2,213	2,923	3,495	2,869	2,931	2,513
Laois	1,131	1,192	1,399	1,826	2,193	2,009	1,950	1,784
Leitrim	450	445	521	740	893	729	701	569
Limerick	3,713	3,371	4,496	5,663	6,944	5,927	5,555	5,106
Longford	602	552	655	858	1,031	908	837	746
Louth	2,067	1,824	2,568	3,393	3,932	3,368	3,441	3,237
Mayo	1,961	1,929	2,311	3,085	3,659	3,106	2,943	2,683
Meath	2,933	2,854	3,682	5,006	6,290	5,239	5,157	4,617
Monaghan	979	947	1,116	1,525	1,838	1,549	1,479	1,319
Offaly	1,223	1,227	1,485	1,939	2,400	2,007	2,055	1,784
Roscommon	3,203	3,717	4,253	4,877	5,039	5,100	4,420	4,967
Sligo	1,063	984	1,220	1,572	1,825	1,581	1,556	1,479
Tipperary	3,003	2,782	3,481	4,407	5,217	4,495	4,432	3,869
Waterford	2,801	2,530	3,636	4,457	5,231	5,283	4,650	4,303
Westmeath	1,689	1,729	2,084	2,595	3,771	2,654	2,551	2,370
Wexford	3,031	3,172	4,133	5,379	6,130	5,706	6,100	5,453
Wicklow	2,020	1,933	2,563	3,513	4,121	3,623	3,613	3,139
Total	95,093	92,887	117,652	153,850	181,293	161,840	157,865	149,748
Source: CSO

Open in Excel: Statistical Yearbook of Ireland, 2020 Table 23.2 (XLS 11KB)

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In 2019, Dublin (59,003) and Cork (17,314) licensing authorities accounted for over half (51.0%) of all new vehicles licensed for the first time.

Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by make

Table 23.3 Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by make
Make	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Alfa Romeo	109	37	40	43	43	96	86	37
Audi	3,624	3,554	4,157	5,062	5,841	5,351	4,806	4,448
BMW	3,315	3,414	3,859	4,651	5,280	4,487	4,128	3,865
Citroen	1,158	1,187	1,330	1,880	1,437	1,429	1,186	1,009
Dacia	0	1,239	2,536	3,660	4,326	3,464	3,411	3,066
Fiat	611	531	625	670	737	779	698	400
Ford	8,014	7,032	9,040	11,823	14,092	11,660	10,746	9,047
Honda	1,051	948	1,287	1,416	1,496	1,244	1,260	1,237
Hyundai	4,942	5,548	7,410	10,743	14,630	11,127	10,950	10,281
Jaguar	199	150	189	262	541	639	594	446
Jeep	25	31	13	77	84	52	92	109
Kia	2,992	3,151	4,062	5,288	6,425	6,812	7,005	6,090
Land Rover	788	786	770	924	1,276	1,154	1,001	1,103
Lexus	257	185	343	494	584	429	471	484
Mazda	1,370	1,359	1,764	2,173	2,911	2,585	2,162	1,780
Mercedes Benz	1,773	1,383	1,963	2,525	3,622	4,619	3,953	3,112
Mini	444	466	477	654	758	596	577	516
Mitsubishi	334	470	577	877	929	647	741	886
Nissan	5,802	5,034	6,691	10,843	11,503	9,954	9,277	7,895
Opel	5,019	4,721	6,156	7,326	7,883	6,474	4,893	4,942
Peugeot	2,201	2,111	2,804	3,449	4,053	3,797	5,374	5,404
Porsche	16	24	51	84	69	81	73	67
Renault	5,142	3,356	4,821	6,110	8,371	8,382	7,075	6,728
Seat	1,260	2,158	2,334	2,514	2,622	3,345	3,600	3,947
Skoda	4,662	4,593	6,005	7,427	9,067	8,613	8,668	8,791
Ssangyong	1	35	89	88	194	96	74	37
Subaru	124	91	135	185	155	158	187	80
Suzuki	608	561	617	865	1,218	1,303	1,229	1,143
Tesla	0	0	4	3	7	48	120	267
Toyota	9,414	7,180	9,658	12,409	14,728	12,207	11,484	11,408
Volkswagen	9,782	9,098	11,329	15,016	15,094	13,609	13,496	13,180
Volvo	1,118	856	1,175	1,515	1,921	1,785	1,690	1,440
Other	101	59	50	54	34	23	50	60
Total	76,256	71,348	92,361	121,110	141,931	127,045	121,157	113,305
Source: CSO

Open in Excel: Statistical Yearbook of Ireland, 2020 Table 23.3 (XLS 12KB)

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Volkswagen (13,180) was the most popular make of new private cars licensed in 2019, followed by Toyota (11,408), Hyundai (10,281), Ford (9,047) and Skoda (8,791). Together these five makes represented almost half (46.5%) of all new private cars licensed.

In 2012, the top make was Volkswagen (9,782), followed by Toyota (9,414), Ford (8,014), Nissan (5,802) and Renault (5,142). These five makes represented half (50.0%) of all new private cars licensed in 2012.

See Irelands Top Motors for make and model distribution.

	Most popular makes of new cars 2018
Volkswagen	11.6
Toyota	10.1
Hyundai	9.1
Ford	8.0
Skoda	7.8
Other	53.5

	Most popular makes of new cars 2012
Volkswagen	12.8
Toyota	12.3
Ford	10.5
Nissan	7.6
Renault	6.7
Other	50.0

Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by fuel type

Table 23.4 Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by fuel type
Fuel	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Petrol	17,788	18,964	23,417	32,963	39,472	39,391	46,776	45,761
Diesel	56,520	51,772	67,740	86,103	99,306	82,492	65,814	53,201
Electric	163	51	222	476	392	623	1,222	3,443
Hybrid	591	555	954	1,562	2,761	4,539	7,345	10,900
Other	1,194	6	28	6	0	0	0	0
Total	76,256	71,348	92,361	121,110	141,931	127,045	121,157	113,305
Source: CSO

Open in Excel: Statistical Yearbook of Ireland, 2020 Table 23.4 (XLS 10KB)

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In 2019, 47.0% of new private cars licensed were diesel compared with 54.3% in 2018. In 2019, 12.7% of new private cars licensed were electric/electric hybrid (14,343). This compares with 7.1% (8,567) of the total in 2018. Within this category, electric only new private cars licensed almost trebled to 3,443 in 2019 from 1,222 in 2018.

	Petrol	Diesel	Electric/Hybrid
2015	27.2	71.1	1.7
2016	27.8	70.0	2.2
2017	31.0	64.9	4.1
2018	38.6	54.3	7.1
2019	40.4	47.0	12.7

Key indicators for transport of goods by road

Table 23.5 Key indicators for transport of goods by road
	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Tonnes carried (thousand)	108,078	108,831	112,499	118,059	141,669	147,229	150,036	159,414
Tonne-kilometres (million)	9,895	9,138	9,772	9,844	11,564	11,759	11,537	12,403
Vehicle kilometres (million)	1,316	1,261	1,307	1,302	1,558	1,592	1,599	1,734
Average number of vehicles	79,971	76,967	83,650	87,094	98,656	108,479	118,032	128,434
Laden journeys (thousand)	10,057	9,925	10,094	10,279	12,090	12,827	13,360	14,480
Source: CSO

Open in Excel: Statistical Yearbook of Ireland, 2020 Table 23.5 (XLS 10KB)

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Irish registered goods vehicles carried 159.4 million tonnes of goods on 14.5 million laden journeys in 2019 and the amount of freight activity, as measured by tonne-kilometres, was 12.4 billion.

The average number of registered goods vehicles in the State was estimated at 128,434 in 2019 and the fleet travelled a total of 1.7 billion kilometres.

	Tonnes carried (million)
2012	108.1
2013	108.8
2014	112.5
2015	118.1
2016	141.7
2017	147.2
2018	150.0
2019	159.4

Statistics of port traffic

Table 23.6 Statistics of port traffic - number of vessel arrivals, tonnage of goods handled by type of cargo and area of trade
Category of traffic	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Number of vessels by type
Liquid bulk	1,060	1,031	998	1,043	1,129	1,054	1,178	1,125
Dry bulk	1,144	766	585	586	866	789	749	615
Container	1,403	1,262	1,205	1,204	1,240	1,240	1,424	1,393
Specialised	113	99	121	200	189	210	208	134
General	7,927	8,597	9,161	9,054	9,278	9,302	9,405	9,469
Passenger	163	209	169	188	207	234	300	216
Total number of vessels	11,810	11,964	12,239	12,275	12,909	12,829	13,264	12,952

Tonnage of goods by type of cargo ('000)
Roll-on/roll-off traffic	11,609	12,145	13,104	13,907	14,884	15,497	16,037	16,183
Lift-on/lift-off traffic	6,151	6,204	6,646	6,983	7,230	7,346	7,629	8,009
Liquid bulk	13,417	11,541	11,345	12,438	11,274	12,211	12,171	11,736
Dry bulk	15,042	15,948	15,128	15,866	15,937	16,805	17,754	15,633
Break bulk and all other goods	870	883	1,261	1,472	1,387	1,486	1,496	1,680
Total tonnage of goods handled	47,088	46,722	47,483	50,666	50,712	53,346	55,086	53,240

Tonnage of goods by area of trade ('000)
Great Britain & Northern Ireland	16,887	17,028	17,418	19,721	20,475	22,266	22,028	21,297
Other EU	15,413	15,944	15,495	16,370	16,714	17,371	18,795	19,499
Non-EU	1,579	2,769	2,363	3,622	4,014	3,419	3,751	2,193
Other ports	8,992	8,167	9,283	8,617	7,832	8,796	8,281	7,910
Coastal trade	4,217	2,814	2,924	2,336	1,677	1,494	2,230	2,341
Total tonnage of goods handled	47,088	46,722	47,483	50,666	50,712	53,346	55,086	53,240
Source: CSO

Open in Excel: Statistical Yearbook of Ireland, 2020 Table 23.6 (XLS 11KB)

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In 2019, a total of 12,952 vessels arrived at Irish ports, a decrease of 2.4% on 2018. General cargo vessels accounted for seven out of every ten (73.1%) vessel arrivals.

Irish ports handled 53.2 million tonnes of goods in 2019, a fall of 3.4% compared with 2018. Great Britain and Northern Ireland remained the main area of trade for Irish sea ports, accounting for two fifths (40.0%) of all goods handled in 2019, while the rest of the EU accounted for over one third (36.6%) of all maritime trade.

X-axis label	Great Britain & Northern Ireland	Other EU	Rest of the World
2012	16.887	15.413	14.788
2013	17.028	15.944	13.750
2014	17.418	15.495	14.570
2015	19.721	16.370	14.575
2016	20.475	16.714	13.523
2017	22.266	17.371	13.709
2018	22.028	18.795	14.262
2019	21.297	19.499	12.444

Key indicators for the five main airports

Table 23.7 Key indicators for the five main airports
'000
Category of traffic	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
Dublin
Passengers	19,090.8	20,148.6	21,694.9	24,962.5	27,778.9	29,454.5	31,319.4	32,676.3
Freight (tonnes)	111.1	113.5	127.4	137.3	134.2	144.9	143.7	133.2
Commercial flights	158.5	162.0	172.6	188.8	204.6	212.2	222.7	229.1

Cork
Passengers	2,333.6	2,252.6	2,138.1	2,065.7	2,226.2	2,301.5	2,387.8	2,585.5
Freight (tonnes)	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.0
Commercial flights	21.5	20.2	19.6	17.9	19.9	19.7	20.4	21.4

Shannon
Passengers	1,286.1	1,308.2	1,555.2	1,642.9	1,674.6	1599.4	1,677.7	1,616.4
Freight (tonnes)	16.1	13.9	10.9	12.2	12.6	19	13.6	12.7
Commercial flights	12.7	12.6	15.6	13.3	13.6	13.2	13.7	13.2

Knock
Passengers	677.4	665.6	703.7	684.7	735.9	748.5	770.9	805.4
Freight (tonnes)	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Commercial flights	6.4	6.2	6.2	5.2	6.1	6.0	6.2	6.3

Kerry
Passengers	286.4	306.0	295.0	303.0	325.7	335.5	365.3	369.8
Freight (tonnes)	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Commercial flights	3.3	3.5	3.2	3.1	3.2	3.2	3.3	3.5

Total
Passengers	23,674.3	24,681.0	26,386.8	29,658.8	32,741.2	34,439.3	36,521.1	38,053.4
Freight (tonnes)	127.9	128.1	139.0	149.7	146.8	164	157.4	145.9
Commercial flights	202.4	204.5	217.1	228.2	247.3	254.4	266.4	273.6
Source: CSO

Open in Excel: Statistical Yearbook of Ireland, 2020 Table 23.7 (XLS 12KB)

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In 2019, 38.1 million passengers passed through Ireland's five main airports, an increase of 4.2% over the previous year.

There were 273,600 commercial flights handled by Ireland's main airports in 2019. Dublin accounted for 83.7% of all flights (229,100), while Cork handled 7.8% of all flights (21,400).

Ireland's main airports handled a total of 145,900 tonnes of freight in 2019, and this represented a decrease of 7.3% compared with 2018.

Dublin airport accounted for 80.6% of all passengers passing through Ireland's main airports in 2012. This had increased to 85.9% by 2019.

	Percentage share of total passengers by main airport, 2019
Dublin	85.9
Cork	6.8
Shannon	4.2
Knock	2.1
Kerry	1.0

	Percentage share of total passengers by main airport, 2012
Dublin	80.6
Cork	9.9
Shannon	5.4
Knock	2.9
Kerry	1.2

Top 10 arrivals and departures for main Irish airports by number of passengers, 2019

Table 23.8 Top 10 arrivals and departures for main Irish airports by number of passengers, 2019
'000
Airport	Arrivals	Departures	Total
London - Heathrow	1,233.5	1,272.0	2,505.6
London - Stansted	854.2	841.7	1,695.9
London - Gatwick	848.9	825.0	1,673.9
Amsterdam - Schiphol	685.4	688.3	1,373.7
Manchester	615.6	620.7	1,236.3
Birmingham	547.1	552.3	1,099.4
Paris - Charles De Gaulle	447.7	448.2	896.0
Malaga	445.3	446.4	891.7
Frankfurt am Main	392.9	386.6	779.5
Faro	380.1	391.0	771.2
Source: CSO

Open in Excel: Statistical Yearbook of Ireland, 2020 Table 23.8 (XLS 10KB)

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The most popular destination to and from Ireland's main airports was London-Heathrow with almost 2.5 million (2,505,600) passengers travelling on this route. Half of the top 10 routes were to the UK; London-Heathrow, London-Stansted, London-Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham.

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019
UK	9.4467	9.674	10.4196	11.5632	12.7854	12.8454	13.0236	13.2352
Other EU	10.9812	11.4589	12.0117	13.561	15.0141	15.8777	16.9011	18.1523
Other Europe	0.7289	0.6928	0.7074	0.7954	0.8387	0.9396	1.1128	1.1845
North America	1.9402	2.2084	2.5065	2.7993	3.1673	3.75	4.2882	4.3426
Rest of the World	0.4707	0.5391	0.6338	0.8129	0.7971	0.8843	1.0301	0.9767

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Link to release: Aviation Statistics Quarterly

In 2019, passengers travelling to and from the UK represented 35.8% of all passengers (13.0 million) on international flights travelling through main Irish airports. Passengers travelling to and from other destinations were represented as follows: Other EU (46.5%), North America (11.8%), Other Europe (3.1%) and the Rest of the World (2.8%).

Go to next chapter >>> Travel

Statistical Yearbook of Ireland 2020

Transport

New vehicles licensed for the first time by taxation class

New vehicles licensed for the first time by licensing authority

Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by make

Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by fuel type

Key indicators for transport of goods by road

Statistics of port traffic

Key indicators for the five main airports

Top 10 arrivals and departures for main Irish airports by number of passengers, 2019

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