New figures show that 12,609 new cars were sold in February, an increase of 4% on the same time last year.
The figures from the Society of Irish Motor Industry says that so far this year, 33,606 new cars have been sold, up 18% on this time last year.
The SIMI figures also reveal that 2,251 cars were sold in the scrappage scheme since the start of the year to February 23.
The Society of Irish Motor Industry said that as there is up to 60 day time period for scrappage cars to be processed, the actual figure is likely to be a lot higher.
The SIMI figures show that the Toyota Yaris model was the most popular car in the scrappage scheme in February, followed by the Renault Fluence and the Toyota Corolla and Ford Fiesta.
'With the big freeze last year, a lot of January deliveries were delayed until February, so we weren't expecting this February to show an increase over last year,' commented SIMI's director general Alan Nolan.
'We are very reassured by the numbers for the first two months of the year but we are only too aware that the year ahead remains a fairly challenging one. There is no doubt though that the motor industry will continue to build upon this very strong start,' he added.
