The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said that a total of 464 tractors were licensed for the first time during April.
This figure is up by 102 units compared to the same month in 2022 when 362 tractors were registered.
The CSO data shows that 227 new tractors were licensed for the first time in April, compared to 188 in the same month in 2022. It is also an increase of 7% on the March figure of 213 units.
237 used (imported) tractors were registered last month, which is up from 174 in April 2022 but is down slightly on March 2023 when 240 units were registered.
CSO
Meanwhile, the CSO data also shows that the number of new cars licensed in April 2023 increased by 1,232 vehicles (12%) compared with the same month last year.
In the first four months of 2023, 17% of all new cars licensed for the first time were electric compared with 13% in the same period in 2022.
22% of new private cars licensed in the first four months of 2023 were diesel.
The number of used cars licensed in the first four months of 2023 rose by 5% compared with the same period in 2022 (16,022 compared to 15,287).
Commenting on the data, Nele van der Wielen, statistician in the transport section of the CSO, said that the figures show the continued growth in popularity of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles in Ireland.
“The number of new electric cars licensed has increased by 46% from 6,748 in the first four months of 2022 to 9,828 in the first four months of 2023.
“In the first four months of 2023, 20,265 new cars licensed were petrol cars compared with 14,015 in the same period in 2022, an increase of 45%.
“At the same time, the number of new diesel cars licensed decreased by 7% in the same period,” she added.
The CSO noted that Volkswagen (1,409) was the most popular make of new private cars licensed in April 2023, followed by Toyota (1,346), Skoda (1,054), Kia (900) and Peugot (613).
Together, these five makes represent just under a half (47%) of all new private cars licensed in April 2023.