The latest statistics from the Motorcheck Car Index, show that new car registrations in Ireland have gotten off to a strong start, recording a 41% increase in new registrations against the first ten days in 2010.

    Commenting on the statistics Shane Teskey, MD at Motorcheck.ie said, 'Traditionally a very busy time for the motor industry, it's encouraging to see an increase in these early January statistics.  

    However, we should remember that the number of registrations for the same period last year was hampered by poor weather conditions. We'll have a much better picture of how the sector is performing as the month progresses".

    The latest statistics show that there have been a total of 6,296 new cars registered in Ireland compared with 4,467 for the same period last year. The top three models for the first ten days of the year are the Toyota Avensis with 366 registrations, the Toyota Corolla with 254 and the Renault Fluence with 247.

    Diesel continues to be the most popular choice with 70% of registrations. In terms of CO2 the lower bands continue to be the most popular with Band A and Band B combined showing a total of 87% of all registrations.

    Registrations for commercial vehicles however are down from 788 last year to 617 in 2011 (a drop of 22%).