Rise in new cars licensed in January

The number of new private cars licensed for the first time rose by 6.5 per cent in January compared with a year earlier.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office showed there were 14,507 new private cars licensed last month, compared with 13,624 in January last year, an increase of 6.5 per cent.

Last year’s figures also include the effect of the Government’s scrappage scheme, which contributed about 3,000 new car sales for the month.

Drivers were still opting for diesel models. Only a quarter of the private vehicles were petrol.

Toyota proved the most popular make of car last month, with more than 2,600 new registrations. That was followed by Ford, with just over 2,000, and Volkswagen with 1,640.

A total of 19,770 vehicles were licensed during the month, compared with 18,701 in January 2011, up 5.7 per cent year on year.