New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that a total of 3,736 new private cars were licensed in August.
This is an increase of 2.3% on the 3,653 registered the same month last year.
The CSO said that of the 3,736 new private cars licensed, 24.2% were petrol and 73.8% were diesel.
The figures also show that the number of new goods vehicles licensed last month stood at 908 compared with 968 in August 2011 - a decrease of 6.2%.
The most popular brand of new cars licensed in August, was Volkswagen (530) followed by Toyota (358), Ford (338) and Opel (295).
However, the amount of new car sales sold so far this year is down almost 14% on the same time last year.
