New car sales in September were up 94 per cent on the same month last year, with 4,330 new registrations. A total of 83,457 new cars were registered in the first nine months of this year, up from 54,805 for the period last year.
The vast majority of new cars sold this year have emissions of less than 140g/km, with 33.8 per cent falling into tax band A with emissions of less than 121g/km, and 44.9 per cent in band B with emissions between 121g/km and 140g/km.
Diesel variants remain the firm favourite for Irish buyers, with 64 per cent of the market, compared to 32 per cent for petrol. The rest are either hybrid or flexible fuel models.
The Volkswagen Golf remains Ireland's most popular new car this year, with 3,698 sales, closely followed by the Ford Focus on 3,693 and Ford's Fiesta on 3,592.
In terms of overall brands, Ford is the best-selling marque, with a 12.9 per cent share of the market, ahead of Toyota on 12 per cent and Volkswagen on 11.7 per cent. Renault takes fourth place with 10.2 per cent.
The French brand has done particularly well from the Government's scrappage scheme, which applies to 10-year-old cars.
It's Megane and Clio models were the biggest sellers in September. With the scrappage scheme due to end on Decembe 31st, sales for the remainder of the year are expected to be stronger than normal, during what is usually a particularly quiet period for new car registrations.