2,070 new tractors were licensed for the first time between January and November this year, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
This marks a drop of 8% or 183 units when compared with the same 11-month period in 2023 when the figure stood at 2,253 tractors.
The latest data published today (Tuesday, December 10) shows that 94 new tractors were licensed for the first time in November 2024, down from 98 a year previously.
The trend is more positive when it comes to used (imported) tractors being licensed for the first time.
Last month, there were 241 used (imported) tractors registered, compared to 165 in November 2023, which is an increase of 48% or 76 units.
In the first 11 months of 2024, 2,414 used (imported) tractors were licensed for the first time, up 54 units (2%) on the same period last year (2,360).
CSO
Meanwhile, the CSO data shows a 25% decrease in the number of electric cars licensed for the first time in the first 11 months of 2024 (16,786) when compared with the same period in 2023 (22,249).
“In the same two periods, we see growth in the licensing of petrol and electric hybrid vehicles,” Damien Lenihan, statistician in the Transport Section of the CSO, said.
“The number of new petrol and electric hybrid cars licensed increased by 32% from 17,943 in the first 11 months of 2023 to 23,752 in the same period of 2024.
“In the first 11 months of 2024, 36,208 new cars licensed were petrol compared with 38,373 in the same period of 2023, a fall of 6%.
“Comparing the same 11 month period in 2023 and 2024, the number of new diesel cars licensed rose by 3% (25,724 versus 26,562),” he said.
The data shows there were 15,565 used (imported) diesel private cars licensed in the first 11 months of 2024, compared with 14,394 in the same period of 2023, up 8%.
The total number of used private cars licensed in the first 11 months of 2024 rose by a quarter compared with the same period in 2023.
Toyota (244) was the most popular make of new private car licensed in November 2024, followed by Volkswagen (189), Skoda (167), Tesla (146), and BMW (141).
Together, these five makes represented 44% of all new private cars licensed in November 2024.
The most popular brand of new electric car licensed in November 2024 was Tesla Model 3 (96), followed by Tesla Model Y (50), and Nissan Leaf (39).