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For more information on this release:
E-mail: transport@cso.ie Noreen Dorgan +353 21 453 5260 Jim Dalton +353 21 453 5120
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

October 2013

New VehiclesOctoberJanuary - October
 20122013Change20122013Change
New private cars2,4422,83239016.0%74,06169,402-4,659-6.3%
New goods vehicles67097330345.2%10,10910,014-95-0.9%
Total new vehicles3,5634,9741,41139.6%91,68289,276-2,406-2.6%

Increase of 16.0% in new private cars licensed in October

Figure 1 VLFTM - New private cars licensed for the first time
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The number of new private cars licensed for the first time increased by 16.0% to 2,832 in October 2013 compared to October 2012. Used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time were up 41.8% to 4,658 for the same period.

In total, there were 69,402 new private cars licensed in the year to the end of October 2013, a fall of 6.3% compared to the same period in 2012. The corresponding figure for 2013 in respect of used (imported) private cars was 42,095 and this was up 33.2% from 2012.

The licensing figures also show that:

  • The number of new goods vehicles licensed in October 2013 was 973, up 45.2% from October 2012.
  • The total number of all new vehicles licensed during October 2013 was 4,974 compared with 3,563 during the same month in 2012 - an increase of 39.6%.
  • In October 2013, the total number of used (imported) private cars licensed was 4,658 compared with 3,284 during October 2012 - an increase of 41.8%.
  • In October 2013, of the 2,832 new private cars licensed, 709 (25.0%) were petrol and 2,098 (74.1%) were diesel. See Table 2A below.
  • The highest number of new private cars licensed in October 2013, classified by make, was Volkswagen (356) followed by Opel (211), Seat (210) and Ford (204). See Table 3 below.
  • In October 2013, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 12,703 compared with 7,784 in the corresponding month last year - an increase of 63.2%. See Table 1 below.

The licensing figures refer to vehicles taxed for road use only and classified by taxation class.

It should be noted that the three month transition period for motor tax gapping provided for in the Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Act 2013 ended on 30 September 2013.

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.

Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassOctober January - October
 201120122013 201120122013
New vehicles       
New private cars 2,2162,4422,832 84,93774,06169,402
New goods vehicles 645670973 10,27210,10910,014
New tractors 9798683 1,5521,8234,116
New motorcycles 616178 1,034889806
New exempt vehicles 173213239 3,8493,7643,763
New other 4479169 7391,0361,175
Total new vehicles 3,2363,5634,974 102,38391,68289,276
        
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 3,4923,2844,658 34,51331,60342,095
Used goods vehicles 403457747 4,3503,9036,037
Used tractors 1491021,439 2,1921,5365,860
Used motorcycles 13197143 1,9101,3851,522
Used other vehicles 267281742 3,5042,9344,731
Total used vehicles 4,4424,2217,729 46,46941,36160,245
        
Total all vehicles 7,6787,78412,703 148,852133,043149,521
Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, October 2013
BandFuel TypeTotal
 PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther 
A 4171,446190401,886
B 2674971100766
C 1475000089
D 330000033
E 218000020
F 131000032
G 2000002
Not available13100004
Total7092,098201402,832
        
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Table 2B: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January-October 2013
BandFuel TypeTotal
 PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther 
A 10,44231,536464049042,491
B 7,43214,9146060022,412
C 3982,150170002,565
D 525820000634
E 445250000569
F 46500000654
G 938000047
Not available11317000030
Total18,39450,412541649069,402
        
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, October 20131
MakeOctober January - October
 NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
Audi 165471636 3,4604,2817,741
BMW 189257446 3,3212,7666,087
Chevrolet 011 22628
Citroen 42205247 1,1672,2253,392
Fiat 471966 495179674
Ford 204731935 6,8586,58213,440
Honda 3174105 9189361,854
Hyundai 112137249 5,4601,3666,826
Kia 12670196 3,0945633,657
Lexus 51217 178102280
Mazda 7450124 1,3165141,830
Mercedes-Benz 61103164 1,3488592,207
Mitsubishi 102131 461181642
Nissan 140237377 4,9321,7226,654
Opel 2115216 4,503284,531
Peugeot 86258344 2,0442,4244,468
Renault 119188307 3,2811,4414,722
Seat 21045255 2,0824252,507
Skoda 18382265 4,4239385,361
Subaru 13215 8547132
Suzuki 251237 546109655
Toyota 195393588 7,1023,69810,800
Vauxhall 0386386 03,2733,273
Volkswagen 3566531,009 8,8135,30314,116
Volvo 5179130 8197141,533
Other 177167344 2,6941,3934,087
Total 2,8324,6587,490 69,40242,095111,497
        
1 The information in this table is available in much greater detail in Databases (see Statbank link below)

Background Notes

Source

The vehicle licensing figures are compiled from data supplied by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, 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 the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport).

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. A further such table was added in November 2008.

The licensing process where applicable follows the registration process.

Vehicle licensing versus vehicle registration

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.

Definitions

Second-hand:  The term 'second-hand vehicles' in this release, refers to imported used vehicles which are licensed for use in a public place, in this country, for the first time.

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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