CSO - Central Statistics Office Ireland

10/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/09/2024 17:02

Vehicles licensed for the first time August 2024

New electric cars licensed in the first eight months of 2024 fell by 25% compared with the same period last year

Online ISSN: 2009-5678
CSO statistical publication, 10 September 2024, 11am

Key Findings

  • In the first eight months of 2024, 14% of all new cars licensed for the first time were electric compared with 18% in the same period in 2023 (14,333 vs 19,021).

  • The total number of new private cars licensed in the first eight months of 2024 was 1% higher than in the same period in 2023 (103,511 vs 102,600). The number of used (imported) cars licensed increased by 26% (42,161 vs 33,359) over the same period.

  • The number of new petrol and electric hybrid cars licensed in the first eight months of 2024 rose by 31% when compared with the same period in 2023 (21,351 vs 16,239). This has driven up the share of hybrids among new private cars from 18% to 22%.

  • The combined share of petrol and diesel cars among new private cars licensed year-to-date has remained the same as in 2023 at 55%.

  • Toyota (1,135) was the most popular make of new private car licensed in August 2024.

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (10 September 2024) published Vehicles licensed for the first time for August 2024.

Commenting on the data, Damien Lenihan, Statistician in the Transport Section of the CSO, said: "Today's figures from the CSO show a 25% decrease in the number of electric cars licensed for the first time in the first eight months of 2024 (14,333) when compared with the same period in 2023 (19,021). Over the same period, there was growth in the licensing of petrol & electric hybrid vehicles. The number of new petrol and electric hybrid cars licensed increased by 31% from 16,239 in the first eight months of 2023 to 21,351 in the same period of 2024.

In the first eight months of 2024, 33,267 new cars licensed were petrol compared with 34,445 in the same period of 2023, a fall of 3%. Comparing the same eight-month periods in 2023 and 2024, the number of new diesel cars licensed rose by 6% (22,484 vs 23,753).

Used Private Cars

There were 11,280 used (imported) diesel private cars licensed in the first eight months of 2024, compared with 10,739 in the same period of 2023, an increase of 5%.

The total number of used vehicles licensed in the first eight months of 2024 was up 21% compared with the same period in 2023 (See Table 1).

Most Popular Car Brands

Data also shows that Toyota (1,135) was the most popular make of new private car licensed in August 2024, followed by Volkswagen (1,094), Kia (894), Skoda (892), and Hyundai (882). Together, these five makes represented more than half (53%) of all new private cars licensed in August 2024 (See Table 4).

The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in August 2024 was Tesla Model 3 (224), followed by Volkswagen ID.4 (143), and Tesla Model Y (104) (See TEM28 for further information)."

Editor's Note

Registration and licensing figures may differ in a given month for a number of reasons, some of which are outlined below:

  • Vehicles registered in the latter part of a particular month may not be licensed until a later month because of the time lapse between registration and first licensing.
  • In some cases, a vehicle may be registered by a dealership in advance of a sale.
  • 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.

Cars Licensed

Figure 1 shows data on the number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time in August 2020 to August 2024

Figure 1: Private Cars Licensed for the first time

© Central Statistics Office, Ireland
https://data.cso.ie/table/TEM01

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Table 1 Number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation Class August January - August
2023 2024 Change 2023 2024 Change
New vehicles
New Private Cars 11,328 9,280 -2,048 -18% 102,600 103,511 911 1%
New Goods Vehicles 2,724 2,627 -97 -4% 20,961 23,826 2,865 14%
New Tractors 199 184 -15 -8% 1,879 1,736 -143 -8%
New Motor Cycles 252 267 15 6% 2,313 2,226 -87 -4%
New Exempt Vehicles 742 756 14 2% 5,059 5,018 -41 -1%
New Other 131 173 42 32% 1,363 1,879 516 38%
Total New Vehicles 15,376 13,287 -2,089 -14% 134,175 138,196 4,021 3%
Used (imported) vehicles
Used private cars 4,559 5,408 849 19% 33,359 42,161 8,802 26%
Used goods vehicles 848 887 39 5% 6,266 7,159 893 14%
Used tractors 180 198 18 10% 1,824 1,782 -42 -2%
Used motorcycles 265 258 -7 -3% 2,122 2,014 -108 -5%
Used other vehicles 521 646 125 24% 3,850 4,423 573 15%
Total used vehicles 6,373 7,397 1,024 16% 47,421 57,539 10,118 21%
Total all vehicles 21,749 20,684 -1,065 -5% 181,596 195,735 14,139 8%

Cars licensed by fuel type

Figure 2 In August 2024, 17% of all new private cars licensed were electric.

Figure 2: New private cars licensed by fuel type, March 2024 to August 2024

© Central Statistics Office, Ireland
https://data.cso.ie/table/TEM12

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Table 2 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by fuel type
Table 2 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by fuel type
August January - August
2023 Share % 2024 Share % 2023 Share % 2024 Share %
Fuel type New
Petrol 3,290 29% 2,356 25% 34,445 34% 33,267 32%
Diesel 2,831 25% 2,129 23% 22,484 22% 23,753 23%
Electric 2,255 20% 1,568 17% 19,021 18% 14,333 14%
PHEV1 1,035 9% 1,006 11% 8,374 8% 9,570 9%
Hybrid 1,916 17% 2,221 24% 18,272 18% 22,587 22%
Other 1 0% 0 0% 4 0% 1 0%
Total 11,328 100% 9,280 100% 102,600 100% 103,511 100%
Used (imported)
Petrol 2,148 47% 2,354 44% 14,642 44% 19,282 46%
Diesel 1,233 27% 1,439 27% 10,739 32% 11,280 27%
Electric 224 5% 152 3% 1,183 4% 1,149 3%
PHEV1 340 7% 627 12% 2,580 8% 5,106 12%
Hybrid 614 13% 636 12% 4,213 13% 5,342 13%
Other 0 0% 0 0% 2 0% 2 0%
Total 4,559 100% 5,408 100% 33,359 100% 42,161 100%
1 Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

Fuel & Emissions Type

Table 3 Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type, August 2024
Table 3 Number of new private cars licensed for the first time by CO2 emission band and fuel type
Band Petrol Diesel Electric Petrol & electric hybrid Diesel & electric hybrid Petrol or Diesel plug-in electric hybrid Other Total
August 2024
A 602 228 1,568 1,354 15 1,005 0 4,772
B 1,595 644 0 749 70 0 0 3,058
C 125 1043 0 13 12 1 0 1,194
D 4 91 0 2 1 0 0 98
E 8 9 0 1 1 0 0 19
F 5 42 0 0 1 0 0 48
G 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 6
Not available 13 71 0 1 0 0 0 85
Total 2,356 2,129 1,568 2,121 100 1,006 0 9,280
January - August 2024
A 10,723 3,089 14,333 14,320 372 9,554 1 52,392
B 20,313 11,143 0 6,880 777 14 0 39,127
C 1,853 7,625 0 103 52 1 0 9,634
D 160 748 0 35 21 0 0 964
E 57 126 0 4 6 1 0 194
F 33 233 0 1 5 0 0 272
G 37 12 0 1 1 0 0 51
Not available 91 777 0 7 2 0 0 877
Total 33,267 23,753 14,333 21,351 1,236 9,570 1 103,511

Car Makes

Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Source: CSO Ireland12 %​Toyota​12 %​Toyota12 %​Volkswagen​12 %​Volkswagen10 %​Kia​10 %​Kia10 %​Skoda​10 %​Skoda10 %​Hyundai​10 %​Hyundai47 %​Other​47 %​OtherHighcharts.comFigure 3 Distribution of new car makes August 2024
Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Source: CSO Ireland10 %​Toyota​10 %​Toyota14 %​Volkswagen​14 %​Volkswagen7 %​Kia​7 %​Kia9 %​Skoda​9 %​Skoda12 %​Hyundai​12 %​Hyundai49 %​Other​49 %​OtherHighcharts.comFigure 4 Distribution of new car makes August 2023
Most popular makes of new cars, August 2024
Toyota 12
Volkswagen 12
Kia 10
Skoda 10
Hyundai 10
Other 47
Most popular makes of new cars, August 2023
Toyota 10
Volkswagen 14
Kia 7
Skoda 9
Hyundai 12
Other 49
Table 4 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, August 2024
Table 4 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time by make, August 2024
Make August January - August
New Used (imported) Total New Used (imported) Total
Audi 413 683 1,096 4,557 5,158 9,715
BMW 445 622 1,067 3,983 4,747 8,730
BYD 134 0 134 1,224 0 1,224
Citroen 82 66 148 953 457 1,410
Cupra 82 0 82 1,197 18 1,215
Dacia 227 11 238 3,496 84 3,580
Fiat 48 60 108 487 350 837
Ford 337 235 572 3,894 1,996 5,890
Honda 47 319 366 187 2,500 2,687
Hyundai 882 101 983 9,795 840 10,635
Jaguar 9 13 22 60 131 191
Kia 894 65 959 7,485 556 8,041
Land Rover 90 125 215 845 996 1,841
Lexus 92 45 137 816 365 1,181
Mazda 81 75 156 1,155 541 1,696
Mercedes Benz 193 341 534 2,635 2,692 5,327
Mini 55 38 93 411 300 711
Mitsubishi 0 30 30 0 441 441
Nissan 235 249 484 4,401 2,081 6,482
Opel 141 0 141 2,337 12 2,349
Peugeot 418 176 594 3,815 1,259 5,074
Renault 288 76 364 3,184 647 3,831
Seat 183 32 215 2,535 325 2,860
Skoda 892 107 999 10,092 866 10,958
Ssangyong 3 0 3 35 4 39
Subaru 1 4 5 14 39 53
Suzuki 147 69 216 1,872 510 2,382
Tesla 328 7 335 2,054 65 2,119
Toyota 1,135 388 1,523 14,799 3,437 18,236
Vauxhall 0 60 60 0 572 572
Volkswagen 1,094 1,236 2,330 11,844 8,738 20,582
Volvo 126 121 247 1,576 971 2,547
Other 178 54 232 1,773 463 2,236
Total 9,280 5,408 14,688 103,511 42,161 145,672
The information in this table is available in much greater detail in Databases (see PxStat link below)

New electric cars by make and model

Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Source: CSO Ireland14 %​Tesla ​Model 3​14 %​Tesla ​Model 39 %​Volkswagen ​ID.4​9 %​Volkswagen ​ID.47 %​Tesla ​Model Y​7 %​Tesla ​Model Y5 %​Kia ​EV 6​5 %​Kia ​EV 65 %​BYD ​Seal​5 %​BYD ​Seal60 %​Other​60 %​OtherHighcharts.comFigure 5 Distribution of new electric car models, August 2024
Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Source: CSO Ireland11 %​Volkswagen​ID.4​11 %​Volkswagen​ID.410 %​MG MG4​10 %​MG MG47 %​Tesla​Model Y​7 %​Tesla​Model Y7 %​Tesla​Model 3​7 %​Tesla​Model 35 %​Hyundai ​Kona​5 %​Hyundai ​Kona59 %​Other​59 %​OtherHighcharts.comFigure 6 Distribution of new electric car models, August 2023
Most popular make of new electric model cars, August 2024
Tesla
Model 3 		14
Volkswagen
ID.4 		9
Tesla
Model Y 		7
Kia
EV 6 		5
BYD
Seal 		5
Other 60
Most popular make of new electric model cars, August 2023
Volkswagen
ID.4 		11
MG MG4 10
Tesla
Model Y 		7
Tesla
Model 3 		7
Hyundai
Kona 		5
Other 59
Table 5 Top 20 new private cars licensed for the first time classified by fuel type and make and model, August 2024
Table 5 Top 20 new private cars licensed for the first time classified by fuel type and make and model, August 2024
Make and Model Petrol Diesel Petrol and electric hybrid Electric Petrol or Diesel plug-in hybrid electric Diesel and electric hybrid All fuel types
Hyundai Tucson 173 0 0 14 122 73 382
Skoda Octavia 196 0 0 86 22 0 304
Volvo S90 300 0 0 0 0 2 302
Toyota Corolla 0 0 0 0 300 0 300
Kia Sportage 147 20 0 0 70 41 278
Skoda Kodiaq 238 0 0 1 6 13 258
Toyota Rav4 0 0 0 0 243 2 245
Toyota Yaris Cross 0 0 0 0 229 0 229
Tesla Model 3 0 0 224 0 0 0 224
Hyundai Kona 0 0 47 55 115 0 217
Volkswagen Golf 73 0 0 104 3 1 181
Volkswagen T-Roc 74 0 0 95 0 0 169
Kia Niro 0 0 46 0 37 61 144
Toyota C-HR 0 0 0 0 91 52 143
Volkswagen ID.4 0 0 143 0 0 0 143
Toyota Yaris 0 0 0 23 116 0 139
Ford Puma 0 0 0 5 131 0 136
Peugeot 408 2 0 33 0 100 0 135
Hyundai i20 0 0 0 125 0 0 125
Dacia Sandero 0 0 0 119 0 0 119

Imported Cars

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Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Chart context menuSource: CSO Ireland<1 year old1-2 years old3-5 years old6-9 years oldOver 10 years oldHighcharts.comFigure 7 Percentage of imported private cars by age group and by year of registration licensed for the first time
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024 to date
0255075
%
X-axis label 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 to date
<1 year old 2 1 1 1 1
1-2 years old 18 11 7 9 8
3-5 years old 56 56 36 29 27
6-9 years old 20 25 42 42 42
Over 10 years old 5 7 14 19 23
Table 6 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time
Table 6 Number of new and used (imported) private cars licensed for the first time
Private cars 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Jan-Aug
New 84,309 101,853 101,349 117,424 103,511
Used (imported) 78,541 68,042 46,567 50,381 42,161
Total 162,850 169,895 147,916 167,805 145,672
% used (imported) 48% 40% 31% 30% 29%

Seasonally Adjusted Figures

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Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Chart context menuSource: CSO IrelandAugust 2019September 2019October 2019November 2019December 2019January 2020February 2020March 2020April 2020May 2020June 2020July 2020August 2020September 2020October 2020November 2020December 2020January 2021February 2021March 2021April 2021May 2021June 2021July 2021August 2021September 2021October 2021November 2021December 2021January 2022February 2022March 2022April 2022May 2022June 2022July 2022August 2022September 2022October 2022November 2022December 2022January 2023February 2023March 2023April 2023May 2023June 2023July 2023August 2023September 2023October 2023November 2023December 2023January 2024February 2024March 2024April 2024May 2024June 2024July 2024August 2024Highcharts.comFigure 8 Number of seasonally adjusted, unadjusted, and trends in new private cars licensed for the first time
Unadjusted data
Adjusted data
Trend
010k20k30k
%
X-axis label Unadjusted data Adjusted data Trend
August 2019 7202 8660 8539
September 2019 4104 7636 8127
October 2019 3214 7652 7973
November 2019 1676 8049 8022
December 2019 729 8148 8162
January 2020 20665 8767 8285
February 2020 13263 8625 8309
March 2020 10239 6956 8238
April 2020 1338 1062 1122
May 2020 1490 1777 2669
June 2020 2189 5081 5033
July 2020 15329 7363 7528
August 2020 7360 8669 8850
September 2020 5747 9115 9111
October 2020 4189 9527 9204
November 2020 1468 6442 9098
December 2020 1032 10631 8831
January 2021 16948 8297 8492
February 2021 11672 7764 8249
March 2021 10672 6628 8222
April 2021 8214 6949 8437
May 2021 7337 8679 8791
June 2021 4980 10967 9134
July 2021 20232 10334 9336
August 2021 8563 9096 9328
September 2021 6354 9405 9164
October 2021 3882 8575 8935
November 2021 2167 8779 8718
December 2021 832 8321 8546
January 2022 15814 8221 8429
February 2022 13643 9319 8331
March 2022 11872 7928 8223
April 2022 10045 8092 8120
May 2022 7120 7841 8065
June 2022 3774 8398 8140
July 2022 15078 8003 8351
August 2022 8942 8527 8642
September 2022 7315 10518 8894
October 2022 4527 9725 9045
November 2022 2353 9380 9116
December 2022 866 8772 9152
January 2023 16787 8741 9239
February 2023 13284 9228 9405
March 2023 15782 10183 9660
April 2023 11277 9715 9950
May 2023 10452 10422 10183
June 2023 5584 12797 10258
July 2023 18106 9776 10194
August 2023 11328 10478 10094
September 2023 6882 10032 10021
October 2023 4587 9602 9984
November 2023 2291 9563 9983
December 2023 1064 10670 10036
January 2024 20861 10319 10084
February 2024 13979 9564 10078
March 2024 14916 9939 9995
April 2024 12409 10257 9816
May 2024 10055 9803 9583
June 2024 3499 8814
July 2024 18512 9201
August 2024 9280 8939
Table 7 Seasonally adjusted number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Table 7 Seasonally adjusted number of vehicles licensed for the first time classified by taxation class
Taxation class Aug-23 July 2024 Aug-24 Monthly % change
New vehicles
New private cars 10,478 9,201 8,939 -3%
New goods vehicles 2,596 2,647 2,539 -4%
New tractors 187 159 177 11%
New motor cycles 203 215 222 3%
New exempt vehicles 529 466 532 14%
New other 139 172 195 13%
Total new vehicles 14,132 12,860 12,604 -2%
Used (imported) vehicles
Used private cars 4,237 5,162 5,185 0%
Used goods vehicles 866 919 947 3%
Used tractors 190 217 213 -2%
Used motorcycles 239 224 230 3%
Used other vehicles 461 575 595 3%
Total used vehicles 5,993 7,097 7,170 1%
Total all vehicles 20,125 19,957 19,774 -1%

The share of electric cars in the total number of new cars licensed grew from 1% in 2018 to 19% in 2023.

At the same time, the share of diesel cars is falling. In 2018, 54% of all new cars licensed were diesel cars compared with 22% in 2023. See figure 9 and figure 10.

percent
Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Chart context menuSource: CSO Ireland201820192020202120222023Highcharts.comFigure 9 Percentage of new private cars licensed by fuel type, 2018 to 2023
Petrol
Diesel
Electric
PHEV
Hybrid
Other
0255075100
%
X-axis label Petrol Diesel Electric PHEV Hybrid Other
2018 39 54 1 1 5 0
2019 40 47 3 1 8 0
2020 37 43 5 3 12 0
2021 32 34 8 7 18 0
2022 30 27 15 7 20 1
2023 33 22 19 8 17 1
null
Created with Highcharts 9.3.3Number% of new cars licensedChart context menuSource: CSO IrelandNumber of new electric private carsPercentage of all new private cars08k16k24k081624Highcharts.comFigure 10 Number and percentage of electric new private cars licensed for the first time, 2018 to 2023
201820192020202120222023
X-axis label Number of new electric private cars Percentage of all new private cars
2018 1222 1
2019 3443 3
2020 3940 5
2021 8554 8
2022 15462 15
2023 22493 19