08 September 2020
Go to release: Vehicles licensed for the first time August 2020
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (08 September 2020) published Vehicle Licensing figures for August 2020. These figures are based on the National Vehicle and Driver File compiled by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
Today’s publication shows that the number of new cars licensed for the first time in August 2020 was 7,360 compared to 7,202 in August 2020, an increase of 2.2%. The number of new cars licensed in the eight months of 2020 was 71,873 compared to 103,582 in 2019.
Commenting on the data, Olive Loughnane, Statistician, said:
‘August is the first month since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis that the number of new cars licensed increased year-on-year. The number of used cars licensed in August decreased by 13.8%, though decreases in the number of used cars licensed were evident prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Data for the first eight months of this year, shows that the number of new cars licensed was 31,709 lower than in the same period of 2019, a decrease of 30.6%.
Comparing today’s CSO figures with the recently published Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) figures, it is important to note that 63.7% of new cars licensed in August 2020 were registered before August.'
Further commenting on the results, Olive Loughnane said:
‘Today’s figures from the CSO also show the continued growth in the number of electric and hybrid vehicles licensed in Ireland. Despite a decline of more than 30.6% in the overall number of new cars licensed from January to August 2020, the number of new hybrid cars licensed grew by 8.2% from 10,174 to 11,008. There were 2,749 new electric cars licensed in the first eight months of 2020, a difference of just nine vehicles when compared with the same period in 2019.’
New car registrations, as reported by SIMI, were 4,875 in August 2020. From January to August 2020, there was a decrease of 28.6% in the number of cars registered to 78,920 compared with 110,527 for the same period in 2019.
The monthly licensing figures (CSO) and the registration figures (SIMI) differ due to the different dates on which a vehicle is registered (number plate) and licensed (tax disc). A vehicle may be registered by a dealership in advance of a sale, and vehicles which are registered in a given month may not be licensed until a later month.
Vehicle registration
A vehicle is registered when the vehicle registration tax due on the vehicle is paid to the Revenue Commissioners. Revenue then issue a registration number for the vehicle.
Vehicle licensing
A vehicle is licensed when the annual car tax due on the vehicle is paid for the first time.
Olive Loughnane (+353) 21 453 5281 or Noreen Dorgan (+353) 21 453 5260
or email transport@cso.ie
or email olive.loughnane@cso.ie
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