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Extra information
For more information on this release:
E-mail: transport@cso.ie Noreen Leahy +353 21 453 5262 Esther Deane +353 21 453 5322
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

September 2017

 September January - September
20162017Change 20162017Change
New private cars5,8424,828-1,014-17.4% 135,575121,595-13,980-10.3%
New goods vehicles2,0421,699-343-16.8% 24,12920,870-3,259-13.5%
Total new vehicles8,6197,219-1,400-16.2% 169,775151,945-17,830-10.5%
          
Used private cars6,6238,3271,70425.7%49,16969,09019,92140.5%
Used goods vehicles9501,14119120.1%7,65610,5372,88137.6%
Total used vehicles8,29610,3862,09025.2% 63,13088,52125,39140.2%

Decrease of 10.3% in new private cars licensed up to the end of Q3 2017

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

In the first nine months of 2017, a total of 121,595 new private cars were licensed, a drop of 10.3% compared with the same period in 2016. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed increased by 40.5% compared with the same period in 2016. The total number of private cars (both new and used) licensed in the first nine months of 2017 was 190,685, an increase of 3.2% when compared with the same period in 2016.

In September 2017, 4,828 new private cars were licensed for the first time, a decrease of 17.4% compared with September 2016. A total of 8,327 used (imported) private cars were licensed, a rise of 25.7% on the same month last year. 

The licensing figures also show that: 

  • In the first nine months of 2017, Volkswagen (12,855) was the most popular make of new private cars licensed followed by Toyota (11,835), Ford (11,255), Hyundai (10,977) and Nissan (9,707). Together these five makes represent almost half (46.6%) of all new private cars licensed to the end of Q3 2017. In September 2017, the five most popular makes were Volkswagen (680), Skoda (463), Toyota (370), Ford (328) and Renault (306). See table 3.
  • Up to the end of the third quarter of 2017, almost two thirds (64.9%) of new private cars licensed were diesel, while 95.8% of new private cars licensed in the same period were in the A/B CO2 emissions bands. The number of electric/hybrid electric new private cars licensed for the first time was 4,896 in the first nine months of 2017 up from 2,980 in the same period in 2016. See table 2B.
  • In the first three quarters of 2017, 20,870 new goods vehicles were licensed compared with 24,129 in the same period in 2016. There was a 16.8% decrease in the number of new goods vehicles licensed in September 2017 compared with the same period last year bringing the total to 1,699.  See table 1.
  • The total number of new vehicles licensed during September 2017 was 7,219 compared with 8,619 during the same month in 2016, a decrease of 16.2%.

Additional analysis on seasonal adjustment is included this month. Analysis on imported cars by year of registration is also included.

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, September 2017
Volkswagen 14.1
Skoda 9.6
Toyota 7.7
Ford 6.8
Renault 6.3
Other55.5
Most popular makes of new cars, September 2016
Volkswagen 13.4
Skoda 6.9
Toyota 8
Ford 9.7
Renault 5.5
Other56.5
Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassSeptember January - September
201520162017 201520162017
New vehicles
New private cars 5,9245,8424,828 114,446135,575121,595
New goods vehicles 1,6812,0421,699 19,44824,12920,870
New tractors 12885105 1,6331,7071,568
New motor cycles 9196104 1,0681,3441,239
New exempt vehicles 401430378 4,6625,6135,297
New other 98124105 1,1401,4071,376
Total new vehicles 8,3238,6197,219 142,397169,775151,945
       
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 3,7436,6238,327 36,11249,16969,090
Used goods vehicles 6689501,141 6,3867,65610,537
Used tractors 103148171 1,2451,4201,920
Used motorcycles 131193256 1,2821,6792,559
Used other vehicles 323382491 2,8873,2064,415
Total used vehicles 4,9688,29610,386 47,91263,13088,521
       
Total all vehicles 13,29116,91517,605 190,309232,905240,466
Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, September 2017
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in electric hybrid
A 1,0252,334501510333,593
B 3276200800955
C 281130300144
D 3735000072
E 440000044
F 48000012
G 2200004
Not available0400004
Total1,4273,156501620334,828
Table 2B: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January-September 2017
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in electric hybrid
A 25,28963,4975643,928121593,494
B 11,35611,43201810022,969
C 7622,44707003,216
D 1996840000883
E 747650000839
F 53880000141
G 159000024
Not available029000029
Total37,74878,9515644,1161215121,595
Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, September 2017
MakeSeptember January - September
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
Audi 2617621,0235,0566,02311,079
BMW 1874736604,2834,1698,452
Citroen 332262591,3581,9083,266
Dacia 185332183,2182093,427
Fiat 31771087085401,248
Ford 3281,1161,44411,2559,53820,793
Honda 682182861,2051,7022,907
Hyundai 19857877610,9774,26515,242
Jaguar 473481592274866
Kia 2112754866,5362,1128,648
Land Rover 69381071,0742421,316
Lexus 22841064167011,117
Mazda 1051232282,4391,1353,574
Mercedes Benz 2063415474,4673,0647,531
Mini 39801195337111,244
Mitsubishi 2445696193891,008
Nissan 2314707019,7073,74513,452
Opel 26812696,154106,164
Peugeot 1862634493,6112,6636,274
Renault 3061814877,9621,5619,523
Seat 1201102303,2208524,072
Skoda 4632417048,1661,7229,888
Ssangyong 7189311104
Subaru 881614675221
Suzuki 75431181,2443471,591
Toyota 37062099011,8355,22817,063
Vauxhall 049949924,5874,589
Volkswagen 6801,1251,80512,8559,18922,044
Volvo 741842581,6131,4433,056
Other 2678104251675926
Total 4,8288,32713,155 121,59569,090190,685
The information in this table is available in much greater detail in Databases (see Statbank link below)

Supplementary analysis introduced with effect from September 2017

1. Seasonal adjustment

Seasonally adjusted series have been introduced this month for all taxation classes in the vehicle licensing data.  The adjusted data is now available on the CSO StatBank.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed recorded no change in September 2017 compared with August 2017. The number of seasonally adjusted used (imported) private cars licensed increased by 5.1% over the same period. See table 4 and figure 4.

Table 4: Seasonally adjusted number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation classSeptember 2016August 2017September 2017Monthly % change
New vehicles
New private cars 11,51110,11110,1140.0
New goods vehicles 2,2852,0131,987-1.3
New tractors 1151481490.7
New motor cycles 1191221317.4
New exempt vehicles 510508468-7.9
New other 1361171213.4
Total new vehicles 14,67613,01912,970-0.4
    
Used (imported) vehicles    
Used private cars 6,5178,0778,4865.1
Used goods vehicles 9591,1561,2034.1
Used tractors 1691932056.2
Used motorcycles 190293263-10.2
Used other vehicles 37245450110.4
Total used vehicles 8,20710,17410,6584.8
    
Total all vehicles 22,88323,19223,6281.9
X-axis labelUnadjusted dataAdjusted dataTrend
Sep-12278362956301
Oct-12244263096264
Nov-12142163506194
Dec-1277485956107
Jan-131073557176046
Feb-13967159946045
Mar-131059662136109
Apr-13811361656233
May-13709564466401
Jun-13329367196594
Jul-13930648946811
Aug-13450454587063
Sep-13325761897346
Oct-13283269397601
Nov-13130772317791
Dec-1363976827907
Jan-141597577097950
Feb-141190674817920
Mar-141148574437844
Apr-141175781737767
May-14776777297707
Jun-14339074927684
Jul-141403772657722
Aug-14620179837840
Sep-14437681718046
Oct-14308280378348
Nov-14146588478708
Dec-14920114569062
Jan-152010593319373
Feb-151538496559618
Mar-1517054101829806
Apr-151316697819971
May-1590271000110161
Jun-153924939710402
Jul-15212901067610661
Aug-1585721120510919
Sep-1559241139211185
Oct-1539431121911430
Nov-1518741140211644
Dec-158471161511827
Jan-16271061233611938
Feb-16211731273311948
Mar-16200961143511864
Apr-16148471198911728
May-16101251134911610
Jun-1641431111311572
Jul-16224621179011584
Aug-1697811192311591
Sep-1658421151111529
Oct-1638311157711394
Nov-1618461111711218
Dec-166791052811036
Jan-17266681124710884
Feb-17169051076610784
Mar-17171801077210711
Apr-17134271054910642
May-1795811059110569
Jun-1735851025210485
Jul-172131610782
Aug-17810510111
Sep-17482810114

2. Imported cars licensed for the first time

Since 2010, one-third (33.9%) of all private cars licensed for the first time were secondhand (imported) vehicles. Further analysis found that since 2013, the largest cohort of used cars is consistently in the 3-5 year old age group. In the first nine months of 2017, just 1.0% of imported private cars licensed were less than one year old (vehicles previously registered abroad in 2017) while 3,612 (5.2%) were ten years or older. See table 5 and figure 5.

Up to the end of Quarter 3 2017, the most popular makes of used private cars licensed were Ford (9,538), Volkswagen (9,189), Audi (6,023), Toyota (5,228) and Vauxhall (4,587).  Together these makes represent half of all (50.0%) secondhand private cars licensed for the first time.

The most popular fuel type for imported private cars in 2017 up to end of the third quarter was diesel (79.1%), followed by petrol (17.6%). Electric vehicles made up just 0.5% of all used (imported) private cars licensed.

Table 5: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class and year
Taxation class20102011201220132014201520162017 Jan-Sep
New private cars 84,90786,93276,25671,34892,361121,110141,931121,595
Used private cars 39,10341,14938,46949,76252,86347,21770,13869,090
Total private cars124,010128,081114,725121,110145,224168,327212,069190,685
% used private cars31.5%32.1%33.5%41.1%36.4%28.1%33.1%36.2%
X-axis label20132014201520162017 to date
<1 year old1.71.61.12.11.0
1-2 years old19.515.611.113.215.9
3-5 years old52.249.650.447.849.3
6-9 years old18.724.327.729.728.6
Over 10 years old7.98.99.87.35.2

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.

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.

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