There was a nearly 26 percent increase in the number of new private cars licensed in Ireland in January, compared to the same month last year, according to official figures on Monday.

The figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) indicated that a total of 20,105 new private cars were licensed for the first time in the month, a 25.9 percent increase on the previous year.

The highest number of new private cars licensed in January, classified by maker, was Toyota, followed by Ford, Hyundai and Volkswagen, according to the CSO figures.

The figures also indicated that in January 2015 the total number of all vehicles licensed was 28,318, compared with 23,701 in the corresponding month last year, an increase of 19.5 percent.

In Ireland, the licensing figures refer to vehicles taxed for road use only and classified by taxation class.