New figures show the number of new car sales rose by 19.4% in April compared to the same time last year, with the increase mainly due to the timing of Easter.
The Central Statistics Office figures reveal that a total of 13,794 new private cars were licensed last month, up from 11,557 the same time last year.
The CSO also said that the number of used, or imported, private cars licensed increased by 0.7% compared with the same time in 2018 with the numbers rising from 8,671 to 8m728.
But April saw a decrease of 17.2% in the number of new goods vehicles, bringing the total to 2,334.
In the first four months of 2019, the CSO said that a total of 64,655 new private cars were licensed, down 7.6% compared with the same time last year.
But the number of used private cars licensed increased by 3.8% in the four month period as the recent slump in the value of sterling makes it more attractive to buy and import vehicles from the UK.
Today's CSO figures show that Nissan was the most popular make of new private car licensed in April, followed by Volkswagen, Toyota, Skoda and Renault.
Together these five makes represent 46.9% of all new private cars licensed last month.
In the first four months of 2019, 47.8% of all new private cars licensed were diesel, compared with 55.9% the same time in 2018, the CSO added.
When it comes to buying cars, licensing and registration are different processes. A vehicle is licensed when a valid motor tax disc is issued for the first time whereas registration occurs when a vehicle gets its licence plate (registration number) for the first time.
