The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has said that 489 tractors were licensed for the first time during January.
That figure is up by 44 units compared to the same month in 2022 when 445 tractors were registered.
The increase has been driven by the registration of new tractors.
The CSO data shows that 296 new tractors were licensed for the first time in January, compared to 252 in the same month in 2022.
193 used (imported) tractors were registered, which is unchanged from the January 2022 figure.
However, the CSO notes that in 2021, 625 tractors were licensed for the first time; this comprised 258 new models and 367 used vehicles.
CSO
Meanwhile, the data also shows that the number of new cars licensed in January 2023 rose by 973 vehicles or 6% compared with January 2022.
One fifth of new private cars licensed in January 2023 were diesel, which was the same as in January 2022.
15% of all new cars licensed for the first time were electric compared with 11% in January 2022.
The number of used cars licensed in January 2023 (3,362) decreased by 9% compared with January 2022 (3,686).
There were 1,280 used (imported) diesel private cars licensed in January 2023, compared with 1,584 in January 2022, a fall of 19%.
Commenting on the data, Nele van der Wielen, statistician in the transport section of the CSO, said:
“Today’s figures from the CSO show the continued growth in the number of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles licensed in Ireland.
“The number of new electric cars licensed has increased by 40% from 1,813 in January 2022 to 2,531 in January 2023.
“In January 2023, 5,819 new cars licensed were petrol cars compared with 4,342 in January 2022,” she added.
The data also shows that Toyota was the most popular make of new private car licensed in January 2023 with 3,293 units, followed by Hyundai (2,357), Volkswagen (1,499), Skoda (1,276) and Kia (1,153).
Together, these five makes represent 57% of all new private cars licensed in January.