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For more information on this release:
E-mail: transport@cso.ie Noreen Dorgan +353 21 453 5260 Brendan Curtin +353 21 453 5577
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

March 2015

New vehiclesMarch January - March
 20142015Change 20142015Change
New private cars11,48517,0545,56948.5% 39,36652,54313,17733.5%
New goods vehicles1,5932,49089756.3% 4,6037,1002,49754.2%
Total new vehicles13,99820,6596,66147.6% 46,87362,94516,07234.3%

Increase of 48.5% in new private cars licensed in March

Figure 1 - New private cars licensed for the first time
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There were 17,054 new private cars licensed for the first time in March 2015, an increase of 48.5% compared with March 2014. A total of 4,492 used (imported) private cars were licensed, representing a fall of 7.7% on the same month last year.

In the first quarter of 2015, there were 52,543 new private cars licensed, a rise of 33.5% compared with the same quarter last year. There was a decrease of 1.9% in used (imported) private cars licensed in the quarter compared with the same period in 2014. 

 

 

The licensing figures also show that:

  • The most popular make of new private cars licensed for the first time in March 2015 was Volkswagen (2,042), followed by Hyundai (1,849), Nissan (1,843), Toyota (1,499) and Ford (1,401). See figure above and table 3.
  • There was a 56.3% increase in the number of new goods vehicles licensed in March 2015, an increase of 897 vehicles bringing the total to 2,490. See table 1.
  • The total number of new vehicles licensed during March 2015 was 20,659 compared with 13,998 during the same month in 2014, an increase of almost 50 percent.  See table 1.
  • In March 2015, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 26,614 compared with 20,328 in the corresponding month last year, an increase of 30.9%. See table 1.
  • Volkswagen (6,315) was also the most popular make of new private cars licensed in the first quarter of 2015, followed by Toyota (6,022), Ford (5,286) and Nissan (5,062). See table 3.

 

Licensing differs from registration in that a vehicle is licensed when a valid motor tax disc is issued for the first time. Registration occurs when a vehicle gets its licence plate (registration number) for the first time.
Most popular makes of new cars, March 2014
Volkswagen 12.3
Hyundai 8.6
Nissan 10.8
Toyota 8.4
Ford 10.3
Other49.6
Most popular makes of new cars, March 2015
Volkswagen 12
Hyundai 10.8
Nissan 10.8
Toyota 8.8
Ford 8.2
Other49.4
Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassMarch January - March
201320142015 201320142015
New vehicles       
New private cars 10,59611,48517,054 31,00239,36652,543
New goods vehicles 1,0571,5932,490 3,0504,6037,100
New tractors 156219223 535688592
New motorcycles 6488139 226240329
New exempt vehicles 522507598 1,2961,6241,992
New other 57106155 177352389
Total new vehicles 12,45213,99820,659 36,28646,87362,945
        
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 4,1134,8684,492 10,51113,37113,119
Used goods vehicles 510739809 1,3932,2082,232
Used tractors 112220160 335684436
Used motorcycles 126123148 282290318
Used other vehicles 287380346 7841,022892
Total used vehicles 5,1486,3305,955 13,30517,57516,997
        
Total all vehicles 17,60020,32826,614 49,59164,44879,942
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time March 2015 Table 1 (XLS 33KB)
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Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, March 2015
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
        
A 3,2658,7561170562212,216
B 1,6412,490220034,156
C 1012531000355
D 141360000150
E 097000097
F 471000075
G 3100004
Not available11000001
        
Total5,02911,8041400562517,054
        
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time March 2015 Table 2A (XLS 32KB)
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Table 2B: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January-March 2015
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
        
A 9,64927,09148301968537,504
B 4,4488,1839100312,725
C 2641,12540001,393
D 504070000457
E 112390000250
F 131820000195
G 105000015
Not available11300004
        
Total14,44637,23557801968852,543
        
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time March 2015 Table 2B (XLS 32KB)
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Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, March 2015
MakeMarch January - March
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
        
Audi 6683811,049 2,1621,0533,215
BMW 536271807 1,8228362,658
Chevrolet 011 055
Citroen 350167517 8435271,370
Dacia3904394 1,15571,162
Fiat 641882 20359262
Ford 1,4016662,067 5,2861,9237,209
Honda 197128325 559366925
Hyundai 1,8491411,990 4,9824255,407
Kia 73875813 2,3872512,638
Lexus 561975 22843271
Mazda 25487341 8872371,124
Mercedes-Benz 321137458 1,2234001,623
Mitsubishi 9221113 38374457
Nissan 1,8431932,036 5,0625775,639
Opel 1,16211,163 2,84442,848
Peugeot 513227740 1,5736822,255
Renault 1,0921351,227 2,4553692,824
Seat 39847445 1,2911361,427
Skoda 1,0111121,123 3,1523133,465
Subaru 20222 641276
Suzuki 582583 23572307
Toyota 1,4993051,804 6,0229496,971
Vauxhall 1508509 11,4671,468
Volkswagen 2,0426072,649 6,3151,7248,039
Volvo 20956265 618199817
Other 290158448 7914091,200
        
Total 17,0544,49221,546 52,54313,11965,662
        
The information in this table is available in much greater detail in Databases (see Statbank link below)
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time March 2015 Table 3 (XLS 34KB)
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Background Notes

Source

The vehicle licensing figures are compiled from data supplied by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS), Driver and Vehicle Computer Services Division. 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 DTTAS).

For new cars registered from 1 July 2008 motor tax charges are determined on the basis of the CO2 emission level, based on seven CO2 bands. Tables with CO2 emission data were added to this release from July 2008.

Vehicle licensing versus vehicle registration

Vehicle licensing differs from registration in that a vehicle is licensed when a valid motor tax disc is issued for the first time. Registration occurs when a vehicle is issued with a license plate (registration number) for the first time. Registration precedes licensing and the time lapse between them accounts for the differences which can occur between licensing and registration figures in a given month.

The question is often asked, which best reflects 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.

Definitions

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

Machines or contrivances:  Vehicles included under this category are mobile machines, forklifts, excavators and diggers.

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