New car sales rose by 12.1 per cent in November, with 1,465 cars licensed during the month. However the sale of second-hand imported cars fell by 6.9 per cent to 4,177 when compared with November 2013.

On an annual basis, there were 91,380 new private cars licensed in the year to the end of November 2014, an increase of 29.2 per cent compared to the same period in 2013.

Second hand imported cars also grew on an annual basis, up by 6.4 per cent to 49,563 from 2013.

Renault was the most popular car licensed during November, accounting for 166, or 11 per cent of all sales, followed by Volkswagen (152); Dacia (144); and Opel (132). On an annual basis, Volkswagen accounted for the most sales (11,106); followed by Toyota (9,485); Ford (9,011); and Hyundai (7,386).