Back to Top

 Skip navigation

Extra information
For more information on this release:
E-mail: transport@cso.ie Kieran Riordan (+353) 21 453 5320 Noreen Leahy (+353) 21 453 5262
For general information on CSO statistics:
information@cso.ie (+353) 21 453 5000 On-line ISSN 2009-5678

This release has been compiled during the COVID-19 crisis. The results contained in this release reflect some of the economic impacts of the COVID-19 situation. For further information see Press Statement Vehicles licensed for the first time March 2021.

CSO statistical release, , 11am

Vehicles licensed for the first time

March 2021

 March January - March
20202021Change 20202021Change
New private cars10,23910,6724334.2% 44,16739,292-4,875-11.0%
New goods vehicles2,0742,97490043.4% 7,3456,852-493-6.7%
New other vehicles1,1041,23713312.0% 3,7353,466-269-7.2%
Total new vehicles13,41714,8831,46610.9% 55,24749,610-5,637-10.2%
          
Used private cars5,5826,5901,00818.1% 20,35221,3951,0435.1%
Used goods vehicles8881,09620823.4% 3,4353,176-259-7.5%
Used other vehicles8681,32645852.8% 2,9423,80486229.3%
Total used vehicles7,3389,0121,67422.8% 26,72928,3751,6466.2%

Increase of 4.2% in new private cars licensed in March 2021

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

In March 2021, 10,672 new private cars were licensed, an increase of 4.2% compared with March 2020. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed increased by 18.1% compared with March 2020.

There were 39,292 new private cars licensed in the first quarter of 2021. This is a drop of 11.0% compared with Q1 2020. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed rose by 5.1% compared with the same period in 2020. The total number of private cars (both new and used) licensed in Q1 2021 was 60,687, a decrease of 5.9% compared with the same period last year.

Electric and hybrid vehicles continue to grow in popularity. These two categories of vehicles combined accounted for 32.2% of new private cars licensed in Q1 2021, compared with 18.8% in the same period in 2020. The number of new hybrid and new electric cars licensed between January and March 2021 grew by 3,552 (52.3%) and 819 (54.8%) respectively compared to the same period last year. See table 6.

The licensing figures also show that:

  • In Q1 2021, Toyota (5,593) was the most popular make of new private cars licensed followed by Hyundai (4,125), Volkswagen (4,055), Ford (3,495) and Skoda (3,294). Together these five makes represent more than half (52.3%) of all new private cars licensed Q1 2021. In March 2021, the most popular new private car model was the Hyundai Tucson. See table 3 and Ireland's Top Motors
  • In the first quarter of 2021, 14,266 (36.3%) new private cars licensed were diesel, while 80.3% of new private cars licensed in the same period were in the A/B CO2 emissions bands. See tables 2B and 6.
  • The total number of new vehicles licensed during March 2021 was 14,883 compared with 13,417 during the same month in 2020, an increase of 10.9%. See table 1.
  • In Q1 2021, 6,852 new goods vehicles were licensed compared with 7,345 in Q1 2020, a fall of 6.7%.
  • In the first quarter of 2021, 0.2% of imported private cars licensed were less than one year old (vehicles previously registered abroad in 2021) while 1,402 (6.6%) were ten years or older. See table 5 and figure 5.
  • On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed decreased by 9.5% in March 2021 compared with February 2021. The number of seasonally adjusted used (imported) private cars licensed decreased by 5.6% over the same period. See table 4 and figure 4.
  • Diesel vehicles accounted for 36.3% of all new private cars licensed in the first quarter of 2021, compared with 43.6% in the same period in 2020. While diesel vehicles represented 59.8% of used (imported) private cars licensed in Q1 2021. This compares with 67.5% in the same period last year. See table 6.

Registration and licensing figures may differ in a given month for a number of reasons, some of which are outlined below:

  • Vehicles registered in the latter part of a particular month may not be licensed until a later month because of the time lapse between registration and first licensing.
  • In some cases, a vehicle may be registered by a dealership in advance of a sale.
  • 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.

Seasonally adjusting the Vehicle Licensing series during the COVID-19 crisis period will be challenging until the scale and shape of its impact on the time series is better understood. The initial seasonally adjusted results might be revised for some months ahead as future observations become available. Users should be aware that there is increased uncertainty around the seasonally adjusted figures during this period.

Most popular makes of new cars, March 2021
Volkswagen 13.7
Toyota10.9
Hyundai 10.3
Skoda8.4
Ford 7.3
Other49.3
Most popular makes of new cars, March 2020
Volkswagen 16.5
Toyota8.1
Hyundai 8.7
Skoda8.2
Ford 5.8
Other52.8
Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassMarch January - March
201920202021 201920202021
New vehicles    
New Private Cars 14,40410,23910,672 50,86144,16739,292
New Goods Vehicles 2,5052,0742,974 7,9317,3456,852
New Tractors 231224297 721711795
New Motor Cycles 194158162 513483410
New Exempt Vehicles 661610633 2,1752,1001,921
New Other 149112145 488441340
Total New Vehicles 18,14413,41714,883 62,68955,24749,610
       
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 9,1015,5826,590 25,90620,35221,395
Used goods vehicles 1,2198881,096 3,7353,4353,176
Used tractors 220194355 6546631,088
Used motorcycles 307290366 776838968
Used other vehicles 556384605 1,4641,4411,748
Total used vehicles 11,4037,3389,012 32,53526,72928,375
        
Total all vehicles 29,54720,75523,895 95,22481,97677,985
Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, March 2021
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in electric hybrid
A 7895911,00587337484,009
B 1,8982,09206103324,635
C 3829020219101,477
D 9724304000380
E 148101000105
F 545030053
G 76000013
Not available0000000
Total3,1923,9601,0051,53822775010,672
Table 2B: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January-March 2021
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in electric hybridOther
A 2,6592,2522,3144,22292,285013,741
B 7,4497,27202,7813083917,822
C 1,6843,532016562405,798
D 46784301270001,437
E 63210022000295
F 1513805000158
G 22170000039
Not available02000002
Total12,35914,2662,3147,1738792,292939,292
Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, March 2021
MakeMarch January - March
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
Audi 4696581,1271,4072,1483,555
BMW 4766451,1211,4402,2353,675
Citroen 10997206325293618
Dacia 1811819977462836
Fiat 257810385261346
Ford 7786511,4293,4952,0975,592
Honda 53198251279633912
Hyundai 1,1033341,4374,1251,1455,270
Jaguar 13385132142174
Kia 6822018832,5126433,155
Land Rover 10898206300307607
Lexus 4591136173302475
Mazda 12556181426178604
Mercedes Benz 4164398551,3741,5172,891
Mini 6349112214203417
Mitsubishi 16119135119324443
Nissan 4185179351,9081,4443,352
Opel 20412058351836
Peugeot 5351837182,3405522,892
Renault 4471525991,4794511,930
Seat 341744151,3372851,622
Skoda 8942231,1173,2947284,022
Ssangyong 60626026
Subaru 257112435
Suzuki 8546131362133495
Tesla 223923227628304
Toyota 1,1684191,5875,5931,2976,890
Vauxhall 02272270651651
Volkswagen 1,4637572,2204,0552,5376,592
Volvo 1711413125205391,059
Other 5366119176235411
Total 10,6726,59017,262 39,29221,39560,687
The information in this table is available in much greater detail in Databases (see PxStat link below)
X-axis labelUnadjusted dataAdjusted dataTrend
March 2016200961154311891
April 2016148471201911744
May 2016101251122411622
June 201641431114411591
July 2016224621187311619
August 201697811191411639
September 201658421158611572
October 201638311172411406
November 201618461108911187
December 20166791027910973
January 2017266681119410792
February 2017169051056510663
March 2017171801082910567
April 2017134271048410499
May 201795811034410445
June 20173585973910382
July 2017213161107810280
August 201781051010010130
September 20174828101409949
October 2017325596669814
November 2017159494379739
December 201760191969748
January 201825813103339811
February 201816501104079898
March 20181608898899942
April 20181155793649953
May 20189362101569934
June 2018371696829899
July 201820743103129862
August 2018768197019808
September 2018439797639678
October 2018287481229499
November 2018164792699352
December 2018778109799307
January 20192227990939368
February 20191417890459486
March 201914404100739594
April 20191379498619651
May 2019912697829617
June 2019385893379506
July 20191874189539369
August 2019720296939256
September 2019410488829187
October 2019321490629131
November 2019167692819039
December 201972992078890
January 20202066584708720
February 20201326383748582
March 20201023968026840
April 20201338973961
May 2020149017341771
June 2020218944554164
July 20201532974557622
August 202073601045910881
September 202057471214512178
October 202041891217412073
November 2020146877877704
December 20201032121307580
January 2021169487486
February 2021116727318
March 2021106726625
Table 4: Seasonally adjusted number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation classMarch 2020February 2021March 2021Monthly % change
New vehicles    
New private cars 6,8027,3186,625-9.5
New goods vehicles 1,7431,6592,42646.2
New tractors 1652052207.3
New motor cycles 12711212713.4
New exempt vehicles 4654945103.2
New other 961121207.1
Total new vehicles 9,3989,90010,0281.3
    
Used (imported) vehicles    
Used private cars 5,3076,4626,100-5.6
Used goods vehicles 8931,1451,062-7.2
Used tractors 194350343-2.0
Used motorcycles 3103893920.8
Used other vehicles 395672596-11.3
Total used vehicles 7,0999,0188,493-5.8
    
Total all vehicles 16,49718,91818,521-2.1
X-axis label20172018201920202021 to date
<1 year old1.91.91.71.60.2
1-2 years old16.718.317.617.711.2
3-5 years old49.250.850.356.359.4
6-9 years old27.324.425.619.822.7
Over 10 years old4.84.64.84.76.6

Footnote: For the purpose of the analysis of the age profile of used (imported) private cars, calendar years were used to band the age groups. For example, a private car defined as less than one year old is an imported vehicle which has previously been registered abroad for the first time in the current calendar year.

Table 5: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time
Private cars20172018201920202021 Jan-Mar
New127,045121,157113,30584,30939,292
Used (imported) 92,50899,456108,89578,54121,395
Total219,553220,613222,200162,85060,687
% used (imported)42.1%45.1%49.0%48.2%35.3%
Table 6: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by fuel type
Fuel typeNewUsed (imported)
March January - MarchMarch January - March
20202021 20202021 20202021 20202021
Petrol3,7343,192 16,64312,3591,2981,767 4,6515,729
Diesel4,9103,960 19,23714,2663,7473,896 13,74612,802
Electric4771,005 1,4952,3143341 130144
Hybrid1,1182,515 6,79210,344503886 1,8232,720
Other00 0910 20
Total10,23910,672 44,16739,292 5,5826,590 20,35221,395

Background Notes

Source

The vehicle licensing figures are compiled from data supplied by the Driver and Vehicle Computer Services Division of the Department of Transport. 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.

Motor tax charges are determined on the basis of CO2 emission level (using seven CO2 bands) for all new cars registered from 1 July 2008.

The licensing process where applicable follows the registration process.

Vehicle Licensing versus Vehicle Registration

The CSO produces vehicle licensing statistics on a monthly basis. Vehicle registration data has not been published on the CSO PxStat since June 2010.

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.

Seasonal adjustment

Seasonal adjustment for each taxation class is conducted using a direct seasonal adjustment approach. However, the overall vehicle totals are estimated using the indirect approach, i.e. the ‘Total new vehicles’ is derived by adding all the seasonally adjusted new vehicles taxation classes. The main reason for adopting the indirect approach is to attribute the monthly and annual changes in vehicle licensing to each of its taxation classes. Seasonal adjustment models are developed for each series based on unadjusted data spanning from July 1996 to the current period. These models are reviewed on an annual basis; however seasonal factors are updated each month.

The adjustments are completed by applying the X-13-ARIMA model, developed by the U.S. Census Bureau to the unadjusted data.  This methodology estimates seasonal factors while also taking into consideration factors that impact on the quality of the seasonal adjustment such as:

• Calendar effects, e.g. the timing of Easter,

• Outliers, temporary changes and level shifts in the series. 

For additional information on the use of X-13-ARIMA see https://www.census.gov/srd/www/winx13/

Definitions

Private cars:  The term 'private cars' in this release, refers to privately licensed vehicles which include hire, fleet and certain commercial vehicles.

New and used vehicles:  The term 'new vehicles' refers to new vehicles which are licensed for use in a public place, in this country, for the first time. 'Used vehicles' refers to used vehicles which are licensed for use in a public place, in this country, for the first time. In the main used vehicles are imported.

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

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.

upArrowHide Background Notes