16,875 cars licensed during January

There were 16,875 new private cars licensed in January this year, which represents a decrease of 1% on January 2003.

First licensing of second-hand private cars increased by 16.9%, or 164 cars on the month and new goods vehicles - trucks and vans - were down 6.7%, with 2,528 licensed in January compared to the previous year.

The total number of all new vehicles licensed during January was 20,870, a decrease of 1.8% on the same month last year.

The highest number of private cars licensed in January, classified by make, are Toyota (2,720), Ford (2,029), Renault (1,413), Nissan (1,378), Volkswagen (1,161) and Opel (835).