Irish Economy
Irish Economy 2014: Cars licensed in February increased 23.1% from low base
By Michael Hennigan, Finfacts founder and editor
Mar 7, 2014 - 11:18 AM

Irish Economy 2014: The number of new private cars licensed for the first time increased by 23.1% to11,906 in February 2014 compared to February 2013 - -  but from a low base. Used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time were up 22.1% to 4,537 for the same period.

The CSO said that in total, there were 27,881 new private cars licensed in the year to the end of February 2014, a rise of 36.6% compared to the same period in 2013. The corresponding figure for 2014 in respect of used (imported) private cars was 8,503 and this was up 32.9% from 2013.

The licensing figures also show that:

• The number of new goods vehicles licensed in February 2014 was 1,620, up 44.6% from February 2013;
• The total number of all new vehicles licensed during February 2014 was 14,547 compared with 11,518 during the same month in 2013 - an increase of 26.3%;
• In February 2014, of the 11,906 new private cars licensed, 2,902 (24.4%) were petrol and 8,850 (74.3%) were diesel;
• The highest number of new private cars licensed in February 2014, classified by make, was Volkswagen (1,432) followed by Toyota (1,262), Ford (1,135) and Opel (1,102);
• In February 2014, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 20,419 compared with 16,177 in the corresponding month last year - an increase of 26.2%. .

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

The CSO said 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.

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