There were nearly 179,000 new cars sold last year, which was 4% more than in 2005.
The society of the Irish Motor Industry said overall new car sales rose 4.13% with registrations for Heavy Goods Vechicles (HGV), such as trucks, were up 20% at 5,859 in the year and registrations for Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) rose 10%.
SIMI chief executive Cyril McHugh said the growth reflected the overall buoyancy of the economy over the past year.
