There were 9,599 new Irish private cars licensed in April 2010, compared with 5,558 in April 2009, an increase of 72.7%, according to the central Statistics office (CSO).

The number of new goods vehicles licensed in April 2010 was 1,070 compared with 990 in the corresponding month last year - an increase of 8.1%.

The licensing figures also show that:  1) In April 2010, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 17,506 compared with 16,551 in the corresponding month last year - an increase of 5.7%. 2) The total number of all new vehicles licensed during April 2010 was 11,556 compared with 7,555 during the same month in 2009 - an increase of 53.0%. 3) In April 2010, of the 9,599 new private cars licensed, 2,893 (30.1%) were petrol and 6,211 (64.7%) were diesel. The highest number of new private cars licensed in April 2010, classified by make, was Volkswagen (1,222) followed by Renault (1,200), Toyota (1,081) and Ford (1,059).

The legal definition for each Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) Category is defined in Section 130 of the Finance Act, 1992 as amended. Further legal definitions in relation to VRT are contained in S.I. 318 of 1992. Please note that the following information is not a legal definition of the various VRT Categories.

VRT Category A:Examples of Category A vehicles include cars (saloons, estates, hatchbacks, convertibles, coupes, multi-purpose vehicles, Jeeps etc.) and minibuses with less than 12 permanently fitted seats (11 passenger seats plus the driver's seat).

VRT Category B:Examples of Category B vehicles include certain car derived vans and jeep derived vans.

VRT Category C: Examples of Category C vehicles include certain commercial vehicles, agricultural tractors and buses with at least 13 permanently fitted seats  (12 passenger seats plus the driver's seat).

VRT Category D:Examples of Category D vehicles include ambulances, fire engines, vehicles used in the transportation of road construction machinery.

Motor cycles:The motor cycles category includes scooters and certain All Terrain Vehicles (ATV).

The licensing figures refer to vehicles taxed for road use only and classified by taxation class. Complementary figures for vehicle registrations are available separately

Table 1: Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class

Taxation Class	April			January-April
	2008	2009	2010	2008	2009	2010
New Vehicles
New Private Cars	17,587	5,558	9,599	95,028	32,692	44,154
New Goods Vehicles	4,047	990	1,070	17,352	3,977	4,911
New Tractors	470	216	117	1,956	862	509
New Motor Cycles	360	235	156	1,240	846	511
New Exempt Vehicles	806	411	525	2,974	1,799	1,935
New Other	442	145	89	1,680	691	324
Total New Vehicles	23,712	7,555	11,556	120,230	40,867	52,344
Used (imported) Vehicles
Used Private Cars	5,477	6,032	4,032	19,694	21,486	14,430
Used Goods Vehicles	1,272	1,467	833	4,455	4,999	3,232
Used Tractors	335	308	182	1,195	998	723
Used Motorcycles	465	529	390	1,229	1,372	998
Used Other Vehicles	710	660	513	2,099	2,105	1,581
Total Used vehicles	8,259	8,996	5,950	28,672	30,960	20,964
Total All Vehicles	31,971	16,551	17,506	148,902	71,827	73,308

Table 2: Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO₂ emission band and fuel type, April 2010

Band	Fuel Type					Total
	Petrol	Diesel	Petrol & Electric	Petrol & Ethanol	Other
A	708	2,616	79	0	0	3,403
B	1,523	2,334	12	395	0	4,264
C	281	725	4	0	0	1,010
D	303	271	0	2	0	576
E	60	147	0	2	0	209
F	13	54	0	0	0	67
G	5	37	0	0	0	42
Not available1	0	27	0	0	1	28
Total	2,893	6,211	95	399	1	9,599
Footnotes: 1: Emission bands are only available for vehicles registered as category A (see Background Notes for more information).

Table 3: Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, April 2010

Make	April			January-April
	New	Used (imported)	Total	New	Used (imported)	Total
Audi	392	404	796	1,479	1,413	2,892
BMW	236	415	651	1,171	1,469	2,640
Chevrolet	27	2	29	128	10	138
Citroen	122	85	207	476	296	772
Fiat	211	21	232	795	74	869
Ford	1,059	466	1,525	5,776	1,737	7,513
Honda	140	192	332	680	730	1,410
Hyundai	334	17	351	1,436	72	1,508
Kia	346	12	358	1,361	61	1,422
Lexus	28	25	53	164	101	265
Mazda	244	40	284	1,154	144	1,298
Mercedes-Benz	253	117	370	1,344	451	1,795
Mitsubishi	76	33	109	624	128	752
Nissan	661	116	777	3,109	418	3,527
Opel	650	8	658	2,939	32	2,971
Peugeot	307	217	524	1,530	718	2,248
Renault	1,200	126	1,326	4,381	426	4,807
Seat	137	52	189	804	177	981
Skoda	531	55	586	2,315	245	2,560
Subaru	20	17	37	139	57	196
Suzuki	100	23	123	402	101	503
Toyota	1,081	549	1,630	5,763	1,888	7,651
Vauxhall	1	190	191	4	719	723
Volkswagen	1,222	600	1,822	5,127	2,038	7,165
Volvo	104	64	168	525	256	781
Other	117	186	303	528	669	1,197
Total	9,599	4,032	13,631	44,154	14,430	58,584