The number of new cars licensed in Ireland during the first month of the year has fallen by 18 per cent compared to January 2020.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show 16,948 new cars were licensed for the first time last month, 3,717 fewer that 12 months ago.
Electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for 9.2 per cent of the new licences, marking a 29.5 per cent increase on January 2020, jumping from 4,308 to 5,581. For new private cars, these two categories represented almost one third (32.9 per cent) of the new cars registered last month.
A move away from diesel vehicles was also noted, with the percentage of new private diesel cars licenced falling from 41 per cent to 34.2 per cent.
Used private cars licensed for the first time also rose last month, with a 5.8 per cent increase (448 vehicles).
The CSO figures showed Toyota was the most popular make of new private cars licensed last month (2,824), followed by Hyundai (1,901), Ford (1,751), Volkswagen (1,303) and Skoda (1,277).
