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Extra information
For more information on this release:
E-mail: transport@cso.ie Sandra O'Riordan (+353) 21 453 5544
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 October 2021.

CSO statistical release, , 11am

Vehicles licensed for the first time

October 2021

 October January - October
20202021Change 20202021Change
New private cars4,1893,882-307 81,80998,85417,04520.8%
New goods vehicles2,5132,55037 19,25125,9896,73835.0%
New other vehicles75980748 9,98611,3081,32213.2%
Total new vehicles7,4617,239-222 111,046136,15125,10522.6%
         
Used private cars9,5434,506-5,037 61,73160,333-1,398-2.3%
Used goods vehicles1,449814-635 9,3509,273-77-0.8%
Used other vehicles1,202886-316 8,84111,6942,85332.3%
Total used vehicles12,1946,206-5,988 79,92281,3001,3781.7%

3,882 new private cars were licensed in October 2021

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

In October 2021, 3,882 new private cars were licensed in Ireland, compared with 4,189 in October 2020, a decrease of 7.3%. This compares with 3,214 new private cars licensed in October 2019.

In addition, the number of used (imported) private cars licensed fell from 9,543 in October 2020 to 4,506 in October 2021. This compares with 10,941 used (imported) private cars licensed in October 2019.

Looking at the first ten months of 2021, a total of 98,854 new private cars were licensed, an increase of 20.8% compared with the same period last year. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed decreased by 2.3% compared with the same period in 2020.

Electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) continue to grow in popularity. Electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles constitute 15.7% of all new cars licensed for the first time in the first ten months of 2021 compared to 7.4% in the same period in 2020. This means that out of all new private cars, the share of new electric and plug-in-hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) has more than doubled. Looking exclusively at electric-only cars, the share of new electric cars licensed increased from 4.6% in the first ten months of 2020 to 8.2% in 2021.

At the same time the diesel fueled share of new private cars licensed is decreasing. In the first ten months of 2021, 33.9% of all new private cars licensed were diesel, compared with 42.9% in the same period for 2020. Of new private cars licensed in the same period, 81.4% were in the A/B CO2 emissions bands. See table 2B.

The licensing figures also show that:

  • In October 2021, Volkswagen (483) was the most popular make of new private car licensed followed by Skoda (343), Toyota (316), Ford (264) and Hyundai (243). Together these five makes represent 42.5% of all new private cars licensed in October 2021. See table 3.
  • In October 2021, 2,550 new goods vehicles were licensed in Ireland, an increase of 1.5% compared with October 2020 and 933 more vehicles than in October 2019 See table 1.
  • On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed decreased by 6.1% in October 2021 compared with September 2021. The number of seasonally adjusted used (imported) private cars licensed fell by 5.3% over the same period. See table 4 and figure 4.
  • In 2021 to date, 0.8% of imported private cars licensed were less than one year old (vehicles previously registered abroad in 2021) while 6.4% were ten years old or older. See table 5 and figure 5.
  • There were 33,538 new diesel private cars licensed in the first ten months of 2021, compared with 35,067 in the same period in 2020. For used (imported) diesel private cars, the total licensed was 33,317 in the first ten months of 2021. This compares with 40,408 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, October 2021
Volkswagen 12.4
Skoda 8.8
Toyota 8.1
Ford 6.8
Hyundai 6.3
Other57.5
Most popular makes of new cars October 2020
Volkswagen 13.7
Skoda 8.4
Toyota 6.9
Ford 9.1
Hyundai 4.1
Other57.8
Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassOctober January - October
201920202021 201920202021
New vehicles    
New Private Cars 3,2144,1893,882 110,90081,80998,854
New Goods Vehicles 1,6172,5132,550 22,84919,25125,989
New Tractors 94131163 1,9961,9942,274
New Motor Cycles 115134192 1,7191,5952,156
New Exempt Vehicles 325421295 5,7135,3875,390
New Other 8873157 1,6761,0101,488
Total New Vehicles 5,4537,4617,239 144,853111,046136,151
       
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 10,9419,5434,506 91,02661,73160,333
Used goods vehicles 1,3221,449814 12,7679,3509,273
Used tractors 192273204 2,2172,0392,927
Used motorcycles 257365216 3,2252,7973,081
Used other vehicles 632564466 5,8144,0055,686
Total used vehicles 13,34412,1946,206 115,04979,92281,300
        
Total all vehicles 18,79719,65513,445 259,902190,968217,451
Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, October 2021
BandFuel Type Total
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in electric hybrid Other
A 195238619296735571,717
B 74760701213011,479
C 206220056200493
D 356508000108
E 8310300042
F 0150100016
G 62000008
Not available0190000019
Total1,1971,1976194347235583,882
Table 2B: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January-October 2021
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in electric hybridOther
A 6,6185,6198,0899,521517,42524737,570
B 19,51417,35205,667348172842,926
C 4,4997,6590541,5664013,782
D 9741,80902667003,056
E 231548071200852
F 3239309000434
G 735200000125
Not available310600000109
Total31,94433,5388,08915,5881,9747,44627598,854
Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make1, October 2021
MakeOctober January - October
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
Audi 1593955543,9885,8089,796
BMW 1924216134,2096,09810,307
Citroen 94641589998491,848
Dacia 7313862,0011672,168
Fiat 86674220777997
Ford 2643976617,1195,76212,881
Honda 262672936972,3443,041
Hyundai 2431964399,9153,02812,943
Jaguar 33336164430594
Kia 2101033136,2061,6627,868
Land Rover 4431758667951,661
Lexus 1352653727671,139
Mazda 3635711,0945481,642
Mercedes Benz 1342664002,9943,8186,812
Mini 2038585665901,156
Mitsubishi 039392828341,116
Nissan 2162704864,3684,1458,513
Opel 11301132,81132,814
Peugeot 1731212945,1951,5516,746
Renault 185832684,0131,2455,258
Seat 213472603,9277894,716
Skoda 3431154588,4321,91310,345
Ssangyong 60688593
Subaru 145306595
Suzuki 66501161,1914701,661
Tesla 2262876770837
Toyota 31643174712,0564,20316,259
Vauxhall 013013001,8881,888
Volkswagen 4837331,21612,0757,83119,906
Volvo 84631471,3031,3002,603
Other 142371799065781,484
Total 3,8824,5068,388 98,85460,333159,187
1 The information in this table is available in much greater detail in Databases (see PxStat link below)
X-axis labelUnadjusted dataAdjusted dataTrend
October 201638311167211478
November 201618461106011346
December 2016679873111185
January 2017266681121911011
February 2017169051088210837
March 2017171801077610654
April 2017134271051610487
May 201795811018410353
June 20173585970410248
July 2017213161087210153
August 201781051004410059
September 20174828101509967
October 2017325596989895
November 2017159495259838
December 201760179769807
January 201825813103429801
February 201816501108089812
March 20181608896859804
April 20181155794349791
May 20189362100199782
June 2018371696939782
July 201820743100519799
August 2018768196349811
September 2018439798699786
October 2018287482069730
November 2018164795689670
December 2018778100529635
January 20192227993529630
February 20191417894039631
March 20191440496169620
April 20191379499749581
May 2019912695549503
June 2019385894139416
July 20191874185859348
August 2019720296159309
September 2019410490089303
October 2019321494739299
November 2019167696109264
December 201972990779180
January 20202066588859067
February 20201326388488973
March 20201023962136159
April 202013381001998
May 2020149016591811
June 2020218944303882
July 20201532972496913
August 202073601016510261
September 202057471230412755
October 202041891327813365
November 20201468807712923
December 202010321251912602
January 20211694879977957
February 20211167278547882
March 20211067258135783
April 2021821465636739
May 2021733779357832
June 2021498094519047
July 2021202321015110375
August 2021856311598
September 2021635413723
October 2021388212888
Table 4: Seasonally adjusted number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation classOctober 2020September 2021October 2021Monthly % change
New vehicles    
New private cars 13,27813,72312,888-6.1
New goods vehicles 2,9223,4003,090-9.1
New tractors 2132712761.8
New motor cycles 1682512530.8
New exempt vehicles 611509446-12.4
New other 12019727941.6
Total new vehicles 17,31218,35117,232-6.1
    
Used (imported) vehicles    
Used private cars 8,9554,8034,547-5.3
Used goods vehicles 1,406818816-0.2
Used tractors 316265256-3.4
Used motorcycles 409270259-4.1
Used other vehicles 553520505-2.9
Total used vehicles 11,6396,6766,383-4.4
    
Total all vehicles 28,95125,02723,615-5.6
X-axis label20172018201920202021 to date
<1 year old1.91.91.71.60.8
1-2 years old16.718.317.617.711.6
3-5 years old49.250.850.356.357.5
6-9 years old27.324.425.619.823.7
Over 10 years old4.84.64.84.76.4

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-Oct
New127,045121,157113,30584,30998,854
Used (imported) 92,50899,456108,89578,54160,333
Total219,553220,613222,200162,850159,187
% used (imported)42.1%45.1%49.0%48.2%37.9%
Table 6: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by fuel type
Fuel typeNewUsed (imported)
October January -OctoberOctober January - October
20202021 20202021 20202021 20202021
Petrol1,5761,197 30,61231,9442,5221,657 14,89917,645
Diesel1,6991,197 35,06733,5385,9732,013 40,40833,317
Electric399619 3,7448,0896540 345405
Hybrid515861 12,38625,008982796 6,0758,966
Other08 027510 40
Total4,1893,882 81,80998,854 9,5434,506 61,73160,333

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.

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