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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 2014

New vehiclesOctoberJanuary - October
 20132014Change20132014Change
New private cars2,8323,0211896.7%69,40289,91520,51329.6%
New goods vehicles9731,46749450.8%10,01414,8614,84748.4%
Total new vehicles4,9744,97950.1%89,276113,18823,91226.8%

Increase of 6.7% 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 6.7% to 3,021 in October 2014 compared to October 2013. However, used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time were down 8.7% to 4,252 for the same period.

In total, there were 89,915 new private cars licensed in the year to the end of October 2014, a rise of 29.6% compared to the same period in 2013. The corresponding figure for 2014 in respect of used (imported) private cars was 45,386 and this was up 7.8% from 2013.

The licensing figures also show that:

  • The number of new goods vehicles licensed in October 2014 was 1,467, up 50.8% from October 2013. See Table 1 below.
  • The total number of all new vehicles licensed during October 2014 was 4,979 compared with 4,974 during the same month in 2013 - an increase of 0.1%.  See Table 1 below.
  • The highest number of new private cars licensed in October 2014, classified by make, was Volkswagen (383) followed by Ford (246), BMW (212) and Skoda (209). See Table 3 below.
  • For the year to the end of October 2014, Volkswagen ranked highest with 10,954 for new private cars.  This was followed by Toyota (9,405), Ford (8,903) and Hyundai (7,323). See Table 3 below.
  • In October 2014, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 10,696 compared with 12,703 in the corresponding month last year - a decrease of 15.8%. It should be noted that the October 2013 figures were inflated by the expiry of the three month transition period for motor tax gapping provided for in the Non-Use of Motor Vehicles Act 2013. The impact of this is no longer applicable. See Table 1 below.

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

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
201220132014 201220132014
New vehicles       
New private cars 2,4422,8323,021 74,06169,40289,915
New goods vehicles 6709731,467 10,10910,01414,861
New tractors 98683124 1,8234,1161,979
New motorcycles 617855 889806876
New exempt vehicles 213239245 3,7643,7634,521
New other 7916967 1,0361,1751,036
Total new vehicles 3,5634,9744,979 91,68289,276113,188
        
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 3,2844,6584,252 31,60342,09545,386
Used goods vehicles 457747868 3,9036,0377,532
Used tractors 1021,439153 1,5365,8602,051
Used motorcycles 97143103 1,3851,5221,469
Used other vehicles 281742341 2,9344,7313,729
Total used vehicles 4,2217,7295,717 41,36160,24560,167
        
Total all vehicles 7,78412,70310,696 133,043149,521173,355
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time October 2014 Table 1 (XLS 35KB)
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Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, October 2014
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
A 4251,6442901112,110
B 2714697100748
C 1873000091
D 029000029
E 011000011
F 130000031
G 0100001
Not available10000000
Total7152,2573611113,021
        
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time October 2014 Table 2A (XLS 34KB)
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Table 2B: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January-October 2014
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselPetrol & electricPetrol & ethanolElectricOther
A 13,60646,23186402112760,939
B 8,75215,4024920024,205
C 3982,293260002,717
D 477160000763
E 303590000389
F 157490000764
G 13990000112
Not available1125000026
Total22,86265,87493922112789,915
        
1 Emission bands unavailable at time of licensing     
Open in Excel: Vehicles licensed for the first time October 2014 Table 2B (XLS 34KB)
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Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, October 2014
MakeOctober January - October
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
Audi 159339498 4,0763,8797,955
BMW 212260472 3,7843,1816,965
Chevrolet 044 14243
Citroen 39182221 1,2872,1833,470
Dacia1681169 5253528
Fiat 231841 590199789
Ford 246592838 8,9036,66115,564
Honda 3393126 1,2681,0402,308
Hyundai 149107256 7,3231,4788,801
Kia 10995204 4,0007314,731
Lexus 111425 338116454
Mazda 5180131 1,7407132,453
Mercedes-Benz 86118204 1,9211,1793,100
Mitsubishi 222648 559209768
Nissan 193172365 6,5881,8028,390
Opel 2087215 5,906345,940
Peugeot 88239327 2,7632,4475,210
Renault 178133311 4,5841,5246,108
Seat 10442146 2,2814792,760
Skoda 209108317 5,8591,0466,905
Subaru 729 13339172
Suzuki 222547 604184788
Toyota 191343534 9,4053,89513,300
Vauxhall 0453453 04,3894,389
Volkswagen 383588971 10,9545,66316,617
Volvo 5360113 1,1177111,828
Other 77151228 3,4061,5594,965
Total 3,0214,2527,273 89,91545,386135,301
        
1 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 October 2014 Table 3 (XLS 36KB)
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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

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 gets its license plate (registration number) for the first time. Registration precedes licensing and the time lapse between both can account 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.

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

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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