The Motor Trade Association says a rise in the number of new vehicles sold can be attributed to stable prices and a pick-up in confidence.
Official figures show 7048 new vehicles were sold in April, 1438
more than in the same month in 2011.
New passenger cars rose 1172 on the previous year, to 5430, while commercial sales were up 266, to a total of 1618.
MTA spokesperson Ian Stronach says there's good availability from overseas and people are more confident now to open their wallets for a new car.
He says prices for most new vehicles over the past decade have remained the same.
The number of used vehicle registrations dropped in April, and is down on the same month in previous years.
Mr Stronach says this is partly because of new emission standards for used vehicles being imported into the country and people spending a bit more money on a new car.
