The number of new cars licensed for the first time rose by 3.7% in June, while the number of imports jumped by almost 14% as buyers continued to take advantage of a weaker sterling.
New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that a total of 3,716 new private cars were licensed for the first time in June, an increase of 3.7% compared with the same time last year.
The CSO said a total of 8,073 used (imported) private cars were licensed, up 13.9% on the same month last year.
Today's figures reveal that in first half of 2018 a total of 83,037 new private cars were licensed, down 4.9% compared with the same time last year.
The number of used (imported) private cars licensed rose by 11.9% in the first six months of the year compared to the same time in 2017.
Volkswagen was the most popular make of new private cars licensed in the first half of 2018, followed by Toyota, Hyundai, Ford and Nissan.
Together these five makes represent 47.1% of all new private cars licensed, the CSO said.
55.4% of new private cars licensed in the first six months of the year were diesel. 38.1% were petrol and 6.5% were hybrid and electric.
The CSO also reported a 5.4% increase in the number of new goods vehicles licensed in June compared with the same period last year bringing the total to 1,649.
