New car sales up by 33% last month

The number of new cars licensed last month increased 33 per cent compared to February 2009, according to CSO figures released today.

There were 11,707 new private cars licensed (taxed) last month, compared with 8,793 in for the same month in 2009.

The number of new goods vehicles licensed in February, 2010 grew even more - 1,494 compared with 1,097 in the corresponding month last year - in an increase of 36.2 per cent, the CSO reported.

Of the 11,707 new private cars licensed last month, 4,317 (36.9 per cent) were petrol and 6,804 (58.1 per cent) were diesel.

In terms of model, the highest number of new private cars licensed in February 2010 was Toyota (1,663) followed by Volkswagen (1,460), Ford (1,402) and Renault (1,094).

Toyota's strong performance comes despite a crisis since Christmas involving a series of recalls over unintended acceleration and braking problems that now includes more than 8.5 million vehicles globally.

The total number of all new vehicles licensed during February 2010 was 14,061 compared with 10,922 during the same month in 2009 - an increase of 28.7 per cent. In terms of all vehicles licensed, there were 19,496 last month compared with 18,604 in the corresponding month last year - an increase of 4.8 per cent.

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

There were 11,990 new vehicles registered in February 2010, compared with 10,364 in February 2009, an increase of 15.7 per cent, according to the CSO.

The number of used (imported) vehicles registered in February 2010 was 5,525 compared with 7,994 in the corresponding month last year - a decrease of 30.9 per cent.

According to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), new car sales were up 39 per cent last month compared to February 2009, and new car registrations to March 1st are up 17 per cent, with light commercial registrations increasing 73 per cent on last year.

A SIMI spokeswoman pointed out its figures are based on when the car is registered rather than when it is taxed - the basis for the CSO figures.

Noting February was the third month running for increased new car registrations, the spokeswoman said a strong start to the year had seen business up about 70 per cent on last year, with renewed optimism in garages and dealers reporting increased activity and footfall as well as sales.

She added the scrappage scheme is having a positive knock-on effect in the sector but called for greater availability of financing for customers to buy cars.