The number of new private cars licensed for the first time in January rose by 6.5 per cent in January compared with a year earlier.
Figures from the Central Statistics Office showed there were 14,507 new private cars licensed in January 2012, compared with 13,624 in the same month last year, an increase of 6.5 per cent.
Almost a quarter of the private vehicles were petrol, with almost 73 per cent powered by diesel.
Toyota proved the most popular make of car last month, with more than 2,600 new registrations. That was followed by Ford and just over 2,000, and Volkswagen with 1,640.
A total of 19,770 vehicles were licensed during the month, compared with 18,701 in January 2011, up 5.7 per cent year on year.
Of these, 16,392 were new vehicles. In 2011, only 15,176 new vehicles were licensed during the same month.
Goods vehicles also showed a rise, climbing 11.7 per cent to 1,082 last month.