New car numbers up 28.5% on last year - CSO

The number of new cars on our roads rose 28.5 per cent over the first four months compared to the same period last year.

According to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO), 65,709 new private cars were taxed for the first time between January and April. Last month alone there were 13,166 new cars licensed for the first time, a 12 per cent increase on April 2014.

The most popular car brand remains Volkswagen with 8,078 new cars licensed, followed by Toyota (7,183), Ford (6,574), Nissan (6,249) and Hyundai (6,117). At the premium end of the market, Audi recorded 2,714 new cars copmared to 2,244 for BMW, 1,441 for Mercedes-Benz and 282 for Lexus.

The CSO also noted a 5.7 per cent decrease in the number of imported used cars over the first four months compared to the same period last year. the most popular imported brand was Ford with 2,524 used cars brought into the State over the four month period, ahead of 2,255 Volkswagens.

Figures for commercial vehicle registrations were particularly strong with 9,427 vehicles taxed for the first time, up 54.4 per cent on last year. A segment often judged as a bellwether for the economy, figures for the first four months of the year are up from 4,179 in the same period in 2013 and 6,105 for 2015.