More new cars on roads as latest figures show growth in sales
The number of new cars registered in August jumped by more than a third over the same month last year, the latest CSO figures show.
The number of new cars on the roads jumped by 37.7% last month, compared to August 2013, while imported used cars fell by 3.3%
So far, in the year to the end of August, 82,518 new private cars were registered for the first time – up 30.3% on the previous year.
Including used vehicles imported for the first time, 14,112 vehicles in total were registered compared to 12,519 in the same month last year.
In 2014 so far, diesel vehicles have proved vastly more popular, with almost three times as many diesel cars purchased than petrol - 60,394 compared to 21,061. Electric vehicles, meanwhile, remain a minority interest, with only 179 purely electric vehicles registered so far this year.
The most popular new car brand in the month was Volkswagen, then Ford, Toyota, and Nissan.
The numbers were measured from licensing records, from the point at which a motor tax disc is first issued. Statistics were compiled using vehicles registered for road use only.
