40% increase in new cars licensed last month but figures down 27% annually 

Last month, 5747 cars were licensed, contributing to the 77,620 cars licensed so far this year. File image.

The number of new cars licensed in September was 40% higher than the same month last year.

Figures released by the Central Statistics Office reveal that while the total number of cars licensed in the first nine months of the year is down, there was a spike in that number during the month of September.

Last month, 5,747 cars were licensed, contributing to the 77,620 cars licensed so far this year. 

In 2019, 107,686 cars were licensed from January to September - 27% more than this year.

Olive Loughnane, a statistician, said the number of licensed vehicles was impacted by the pandemic.

"This fall is due to the very low numbers licensed during the peak of the Covid-19 crisis. The number of used cars licensed in September declined by 5.8% but decreases in the number of used cars licensed were evident prior to the onset of the Covid-19 crisis."

"Comparing today’s CSO figures with the recently published Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) figures, it is important to note that 53.4% of new cars licensed in September 2020 were registered before September," she added.