Back to Top

 Skip navigation

Extra information
For more information on this release:
E-mail: transport@cso.ie Kieran Riordan (+353) 21 453 5320 Shane Carey (+353) 21 453 5321
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

November 2018

 November January - November
20172018Change 20172018Change
New private cars1,5941,647533.3% 126,444120,379-6,065-4.8%
New goods vehicles1,1721,214423.6% 23,50824,8771,3695.8%
Total new vehicles3,1653,2771123.5% 160,450156,278-4,172-2.6%
          
Used private cars8,4158,493780.9% 86,14992,9956,8467.9%
Used goods vehicles1,3181,294-24-1.8% 13,09913,8037045.4%
Total used vehicles10,61010,7471371.3% 109,895117,6217,7267.0%

Increase of 3.3% in new private cars licensed in November 2018

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

In November 2018, 1,647 new private cars were licensed, an increase of 3.3% compared with November 2017. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed increased by 0.9% compared with November 2017.

In the first eleven months of 2018, 120,379 new private cars were licensed, a decrease of 4.8% compared with the same period last year. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed increased by 7.9% compared with the same period in 2017.

The licensing figures also show that: 

  • Renault (184) was the most popular make of new private cars licensed followed by Volkswagen (177), Toyota (124), Dacia (122) and Skoda (106). Together these five makes represent 43.3% of all new private cars licensed in November 2018. See table 3.
  • In the first eleven months of 2018, over half (54.3%) of new private cars licensed were diesel, while 94.6% of new private cars licensed in the same period were in the A/B CO2 emissions bands. See table 2B.
  • There was a 3.6% increase in the number of new goods vehicles licensed in November 2018 bringing the total to 1,214.
  • The total number of new vehicles licensed during November 2018 was 3,277 compared with 3,165 during the same month in 2017, an increase of 3.5%. See table 1.
  • On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed increased by 7.6% in November 2018 compared with October 2018. The number of seasonally adjusted used (imported) private cars licensed decreased by 1.6% over the same period. See table 4 and figure 4.
  • In the first eleven months of 2018, 1.7% of imported private cars licensed were less than one year old (vehicles previously registered abroad in 2018) while 4,344 (4.7%) were ten years or older. See table 5 and figure 5.

Licensing and registration are different processes. A vehicle is licensed when a valid motor tax disc is issued for the first time whereas registration occurs when a vehicle gets its licence plate (registration number) for the first time.

Most popular makes of new cars November 2018
Renault 11.2
Volkswagen 10.7
Toyota 7.5
Dacia 7.4
Skoda 6.4
Other56.7
Most popular makes of new cars November 2017
Renault 10
Volkswagen 13.7
Toyota 5.3
Dacia 4.6
Skoda 7.4
Other59
Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassNovember January - November
201620172018 201620172018
New vehicles       
New private cars 1,8461,5941,647 141,252126,444120,379
New goods vehicles 1,3801,1721,214 27,41923,50824,877
New tractors 10995115 1,8851,7561,980
New motor cycles 758077 1,5111,4001,514
New exempt vehicles 154140165 6,1145,7795,855
New other 968459 1,5861,5631,673
Total new vehicles 3,6603,1653,277 179,767160,450156,278
       
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 7,6218,4158,493 63,76886,14992,995
Used goods vehicles 1,1551,3181,294 9,92113,09913,803
Used tractors 193193177 1,7592,3072,042
Used motorcycles 188221253 2,0713,0233,137
Used other vehicles 444463530 4,0315,3175,644
Total used vehicles 9,60110,61010,747 81,550109,895117,621
       
Total all vehicles 13,26113,77514,024 261,317270,345273,899
Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, November 2018
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in electric hybrid
A 34770125590291,161
B 2111660100378
C 1843000061
D 827000035
E 1700008
F 1300004
G 0000000
Not available0000000
Total58694725600291,647
Table 2B: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January-November 2018
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in electric hybrid
A 30,82849,5011,2116,341170988,591
B 13,72411,32402410025,289
C 1,5202,812031014,364
D 21993202001,153
E 805940000674
F 601450000205
G 3412000046
Not available354000057
Total46,46865,3741,2116,6151710120,379
Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, November 2018
MakeNovember January - November
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
Audi 926887804,7878,03512,822
BMW 876777644,0857,10211,187
Citroen 331772101,1722,1373,309
Dacia 122341563,3562873,643
Fiat 26771036937531,446
Ford 981,0361,13410,70110,95221,653
Honda 82292371,2562,5073,763
Hyundai 8555463910,9226,53817,460
Jaguar 348515925651,157
Kia 552983536,9853,11610,101
Land Rover 1452669955341,529
Lexus 51271324691,4491,918
Mazda 161241402,1591,4633,622
Mercedes Benz 446406843,9315,2589,189
Mini 2173945638821,445
Mitsubishi 181041227391,0431,782
Nissan 654985639,2395,66914,908
Opel 780784,82974,836
Peugeot 792233025,3542,7098,063
Renault 1841833676,9891,8888,877
Seat 20981183,5651,1344,699
Skoda 1062433498,6122,68911,301
Ssangyong 213741589
Subaru 34718579264
Suzuki 3657931,2225121,734
Toyota 12460372711,4126,40417,816
Vauxhall 039939904,5654,565
Volkswagen 1779841,16113,40111,63325,034
Volvo 331842171,6822,1703,852
Other1378914109001,310
Total1,6478,49310,140 120,37992,995213,374
The information in this table is available in much greater detail in Databases (see StatBank link below)
X-axis labelUnadjusted dataAdjusted dataTrend
November 2013130772407794
December 201363976787905
January 20141597577287940
February 20141190674567902
March 20141148574117821
April 20141175782027745
May 2014776777167691
June 2014339075267677
July 20141403772897725
August 2014620179767850
September 2014437681988056
October 2014308280618351
November 2014146588238703
December 2014920114839056
January 20152010593249365
February 20151538495839604
March 201517054101999782
April 20151316698379935
May 20159027993410118
June 20153924947110363
July 2015212901071110643
August 201585721119310929
September 201559241145211216
October 201539431134111473
November 201518741144911690
December 20158471161311873
January 2016271061225711984
February 2016211731252211992
March 2016200961154611899
April 2016148471208911742
May 2016101251127311607
June 201641431101111574
July 2016224621179711622
August 201697811200411685
September 201658421160711665
October 201638311202111526
November 201618461118211306
December 20166791047411068
January 2017266681115210868
February 2017169051048210734
March 2017171801092410644
April 2017134271071510570
May 201795811048310504
June 20173585986410424
July 2017213161083810344
August 201781051020110269
September 201748281019710197
October 201732551032810144
November 20171594973810089
December 20176011002810033
January 2018258131017110006
February 2018165011019410028
March 201816088990710068
April 201811557977710125
May 201893621026210148
June 201837161052710110
July 2018207431002710020
August 2018768198259889
September 201843979753
October 201828749196
November 201816479899
Table 4: Seasonally adjusted number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation classNovember 2017October 2018November 2018Monthly % change
New vehicles    
New private cars 9,7389,1969,8997.6
New goods vehicles 1,9792,0071,990-0.8
New tractors 137199173-13.1
New motor cycles 134145129-11.0
New exempt vehicles 43641551624.3
New other 147108104-3.7
Total new vehicles 12,57112,07012,8116.1
    
Used (imported) vehicles    
Used private cars 8,0658,2778,147-1.6
Used goods vehicles 1,2311,1931,2091.3
Used tractors 190179176-1.7
Used motorcycles 2812712948.5
Used other vehicles 468541536-0.9
Total used vehicles 10,23510,46110,362-0.9
    
Total all vehicles 22,80622,53123,1732.8
X-axis label20142015201620172018 to date
<1 year old1.61.12.11.91.7
1-2 years old15.611.113.216.718.2
3-5 years old49.650.447.849.251
6-9 years old24.327.729.727.324.5
Over 10 years old8.99.87.34.84.7
Table 5: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time
Private cars20142015201620172018 January - November
New92,361121,110141,931127,045120,379
Used (imported) 52,86347,21770,13892,50892,995
Total145,224168,327212,069219,553213,374
% used (imported)36.4%28.1%33.1%42.1%43.6%

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 6: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by fuel type
Fuel typeNewUsed (imported)
November January - NovemberNovember January - November
20172018 20172018 20172018 20172018
Petrol492586 39,20046,468 1,4951,639 15,27716,602
Diesel1,031947 82,09865,374 6,5236,144 67,88670,320
Electric1925 6181,211 5164 430657
Hybrid5289 4,5287,326 346645 2,5555,411
Other00 00 01 15
Total1,5941,647 126,444120,379 8,4158,493 86,14992,995

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, Tourism and Sport. 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 the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport).

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 StatBank 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