Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that new car sales jumped by 23% in January compared with the same month last year. 24,605 new cars were licensed in the month, compared with 19,992 in January 2005.
The number of second-hand cars licensed surged by 80% to 3,462. Toyota led the way in the new car list, with 3,561, followed by Ford and Volkswagen.
Separate CSO figures show that factory gate prices dropped by 0.2% in January, giving an annual increase of 2.7%.
Prices of chemicals and office machinery both fell by 0.7% in the month, while prices of meat and meat products were down 1.3%.
A breakdown showed that wholesale prices of building and construction materials rose by 0.8% in the month. Energy product prices jumped by 5.6%, with petrol fuels up 1.8%. Energy prices are now running 12.3% ahead over the year, with petrol fuels prices up 29%.
