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Extra information
For more information on this release:
E-mail: transport@cso.ie Kieran Riordan (+353) 21 453 5320 Shane Carey (+353) 21 453 5321
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 2018

 October January - October
20172018Change 20172018Change
New private cars3,2552,874-381-11.7% 124,850118,732-6,118-4.9%
New goods vehicles1,4661,61915310.4% 22,33623,6631,3275.9%
Total new vehicles5,3405,086-254-4.8% 157,285153,001-4,284-2.7%
          
Used private cars8,6449,0674234.9% 77,73484,5026,7688.7%
Used goods vehicles1,2441,302584.7% 11,78112,5097286.2%
Total used vehicles10,76411,3355715.3% 99,285106,8747,5897.6%

Decrease of 11.7% in new private cars licensed in October 2018

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

In October 2018, 2,874 new private cars were licensed, a drop of 11.7% compared with October 2017. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed increased by 4.9% compared with October 2017.

In the first ten months of 2018, 118,732 new private cars were licensed, a decrease of 4.9% compared with the same period last year. The number of used (imported) private cars licensed increased by 8.7% compared with the same period in 2017.

The licensing figures also show that: 

  • Volkswagen (349) was the most popular make of new private cars licensed followed by Ford (282), Skoda (222), Renault (202) and Nissan (188). Together these five makes represent 43.2% of all new private cars licensed in October 2018. See table 3.
  • In the first ten months of 2018, over half (54.3%) of new private cars licensed were diesel, while 94.6% of new private cars licensed in the same period were in the A/B CO2 emissions bands. See table 2B.
  • There was a 10.4% increase in the number of new goods vehicles licensed in October 2018 bringing the total to 1,619.
  • The total number of new vehicles licensed during October 2018 was 5,086 compared with 5,340 during the same month in 2018, a decrease of 4.8%. See table 1.
  • On a seasonally adjusted basis, new private cars licensed decreased by 6.6% in October 2018 compared with September 2018. The number of seasonally adjusted used (imported) private cars licensed decreased by 3.4% over the same period. See table 4 and figure 4.
  • In the first ten months of 2018, 1.3% of imported private cars licensed were less than one year old (vehicles previously registered abroad in 2018) while 4,045 (4.8%) were ten years or older. See table 5 and figure 5.

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 October 2018
Volkswagen 12.1
Ford 9.8
Skoda 7.7
Renault 7
Nissan 6.5
Other56.8
Most popular makes of new cars October 2017
Volkswagen 13.9
Ford 8
Skoda 8.4
Renault 6
Nissan 4.4
Other59.2
Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation ClassOctober January - October
201620172018 201620172018
New vehicles       
New private cars 3,8313,2552,874 139,406124,850118,732
New goods vehicles 1,9101,4661,619 26,03922,33623,663
New tractors 6993135 1,7761,6611,865
New motor cycles 9281114 1,4361,3201,437
New exempt vehicles 347342269 5,9605,6395,690
New other 8310375 1,4901,4791,614
Total new vehicles 6,3325,3405,086 176,107157,285153,001
       
Used (imported) vehicles       
Used private cars 6,9788,6449,067 56,14777,73484,502
Used goods vehicles 1,1101,2441,302 8,76611,78112,509
Used tractors 146194173 1,5662,1141,865
Used motorcycles 204243246 1,8832,8022,884
Used other vehicles 381439547 3,5874,8545,114
Total used vehicles 8,81910,76411,335 71,94999,285106,874
       
Total all vehicles 15,15116,10416,421 248,056256,570259,875
Table 2A: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, October 2018
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in electric hybrid
A 6331,18358910281,993
B 3373210500663
C 48940100143
D 635000041
E 218000020
F 39000012
G 1000001
Not available0100001
Total1,0301,66158970282,874
Table 2B: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, January-October 2018
BandFuel TypeTotal
PetrolDieselElectricPetrol & electric hybridDiesel & electric hybridPetrol or Diesel plug-in electric hybrid
A 30,48148,8001,1866,282168087,430
B 13,51311,15802400024,911
C 1,5022,769031014,303
D 21190502001,118
E 795870000666
F 591420000201
G 3412000046
Not available354000057
Total45,88264,4271,1866,5551681118,732
Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, October 2018
MakeOctober January - October
NewUsed (imported)Total NewUsed (imported)Total
Audi 997378364,6957,34712,042
BMW 1296948233,9986,42510,423
Citroen 491802291,1391,9603,099
Dacia 156221783,2342533,487
Fiat 24861106676761,343
Ford 2821,1031,38510,6039,91620,519
Honda 372362731,2482,2783,526
Hyundai 12361874110,8375,98416,821
Jaguar 1761785895171,106
Kia 1153064216,9302,8189,748
Land Rover 3952919814821,463
Lexus 71251324641,3221,786
Mazda 481271752,1431,3393,482
Mercedes Benz 855526373,8874,6188,505
Mini 29921215428091,351
Mitsubishi 321351677219391,660
Nissan 1885297179,1745,17114,345
Opel 11301134,75174,758
Peugeot 1532894425,2752,4867,761
Renault 2021733756,8051,7058,510
Seat 521301823,5451,0364,581
Skoda 2222785008,5062,44610,952
Ssangyong 022721486
Subaru 11132418275257
Suzuki 80431231,1864551,641
Toyota 15262577711,2885,80117,089
Vauxhall 041441404,1664,166
Volkswagen 3491,1531,50213,22410,64923,873
Volvo 701822521,6491,9863,635
Other111101213978221,219
Total2,8749,06711,941 118,73284,502203,234
The information in this table is available in much greater detail in Databases (see StatBank link below)
X-axis labelUnadjusted dataAdjusted dataTrend
October 2013283269597625
November 2013130772517814
December 201363976977923
January 20141597577327955
February 20141190674617915
March 20141148574177831
April 20141175782057752
May 2014776777217696
June 2014339075217680
July 20141403772717727
August 2014620179727851
September 2014437681978058
October 2014308280648354
November 2014146588308708
December 2014920114979061
January 20152010593309371
February 20151538495899612
March 201517054102089793
April 20151316698439947
May 20159027993910129
June 20153924944810371
July 2015212901069110646
August 201585721118210927
September 201559241144311211
October 201539431133811470
November 201518741145211690
December 20158471162111879
January 2016271061227011997
February 2016211731253412006
March 2016200961155811912
April 2016148471210411749
May 2016101251127911603
June 201641431098811556
July 2016224621177411594
August 201697811196911655
September 201658421155811644
October 201638311196511519
November 201618461128511314
December 20166791048611089
January 2017266681116610895
February 2017169051049710761
March 2017171801094410667
April 2017134271073410587
May 201795811049810504
June 20173585985710402
July 2017213161081510304
August 201781051014510226
September 201748281009910168
October 201732551019110141
November 201715941001210113
December 20176011004410076
January 2018258131018510055
February 2018165011021310072
March 201816088992810103
April 201811557980310151
May 201893621029210177
June 201837161054410135
July 2018207431000510003
August 201876819746
September 201843979596
October 201828748967
Table 4: Seasonally adjusted number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation classOctober 2017September 2018October 2018Monthly % change
New vehicles    
New private cars 10,1919,5968,967-6.6
New goods vehicles 1,8962,1242,050-3.5
New tractors 15117220217.4
New motor cycles 1081381487.2
New exempt vehicles 542475410-13.7
New other 155158110-30.4
Total new vehicles 13,04312,66311,887-6.1
    
Used (imported) vehicles    
Used private cars 8,2538,6288,333-3.4
Used goods vehicles 1,1781,2001,192-0.7
Used tractors 2111721804.7
Used motorcycles 273280269-3.9
Used other vehicles 4515005408.0
Total used vehicles 10,36610,78010,514-2.5
    
Total all vehicles 23,40923,44322,401-4.4
X-axis label20142015201620172018 to date
<1 year old1.61.12.11.91.3
1-2 years old15.611.113.216.718
3-5 years old49.650.447.849.251.2
6-9 years old24.327.729.727.324.7
Over 10 years old8.99.87.34.84.8
Table 5: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time
Private cars20142015201620172018 January - October
New92,361121,110141,931127,045118,732
Used (imported) 52,86347,21770,13892,50884,502
Total145,224168,327212,069219,553203,234
% used (imported)36.4%28.1%33.1%42.1%41.6%

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.

Table 6: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by fuel type
Fuel typeNewUsed (imported)
October January - OctoberOctober January - October
20172018 20172018 20172018 20172018
Petrol9601,030 38,70845,882 1,5951,743 13,78214,963
Diesel2,1161,661 81,06764,427 6,7096,597 61,36364,176
Electric3558 5991,186 4979 379593
Hybrid144125 4,4767,237 291646 2,2094,766
Other00 00 02 14
Total3,2552,874 124,850118,732 8,6449,067 77,73484,502

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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