A record 18,052 cars changed hands over the first five days of 2006, an increase of almost 7% on last year.

The county which changed the greatest number of motors over the period was Waterford, where one car was registered for every 172 people in the county.

Donegal was the county with the lowest ratio of car registrations, with one car registered for every 303 people.

Ninety-four per cent of cars registered in the state were purchased new, with a total of 1,123 second-hand cars registered with the Revenue Commissioners during the same period.

A total of 16,929 new cars were registered in the first working week of the year. This figure has risen steadily over the past several years, and is an increase of 4% above the first week of 2005.

The largest jump of recent years took place last year when there was a 30% increase on the number of new cars purchased in the first week, compared to 2004. However, 2006 has seen a massive jump in the number of used cars registered in the first week of the year. A total of 1,123 used cars were registered during the first five days of 2006, a 67% increase on the same period last year when 672 used cars were registered.

Figures for the first week of each year show a climb of over 300% in the registration of used cars. In 2003, just 269 used cars . . . 2% of all registrations during the first week of that year . . . were registered with the Revenue Commissioners. However, 2006 has seen 1,123 used cars registered, representing 7% of all registrations.

Almost 30% of cars bought in Ireland so far this year were purchased in Dublin, while Cork had the second-highest number with 13%. However, per capita, Dublin got a newlyregistered car for every 238 people, while one out of every 199 people in Cork registered a new car.

Not surprisingly, the smallest number of cars registered was in Leitrim, Ireland's smallest county, which registered just 87 motors in the first week of 2006.

This amounts to a newlyregistered car for one in every 289 people in the county but is a significant increase on the 76 registered in the same period last year.