New car registries increase by 17%

The number of new cars licensed in September rose 17% compared to the corresponding month last year.

CSO figures show 3,257 cars were registered last month — 474 more than in Sept 2012.

However, the overall number of new cars licensed in the Republic in the year to date is 7% below the corresponding stage in 2012.

A total of 66,570 new cars were registered in the first nine months of this year compared to 71,619 vehicles last year — a difference of 5,049.

The September figures have been boosted by the biannual car registration scheme which has been credited with giving the ailing sector a much-needed impetus in the second half of the year when new car sales are traditionally much slower.

The number of imported cars last month jumped by 59.6% and exceeded the figure for new car registrations.

A total of 4,735 used cars were imported in September. The number of imported cars in 2013 to date (37,437) is up 32.1% compared to the same period last year

Almost 76% of all new cars registered last month were diesel models.

The best-selling make last month was Volkswagen (476) followed by BMW (321), Toyota (310), and Skoda (265).

In the year-to-date, Volkswagen also topped the leading make list with 8,457 new vehicles followed by Toyota (6,907), Ford (6,654), Hyundai (5,348), and Nissan (4,792).

Meanwhile, Irish Road Safety Week was launched yesterday with the Road Safety Authority urging the public to get involved in the national campaign to save lives.

The latest statistics show that 148 people have been killed on Irish roads so far in 2013 — 18 more than for the same period last year.