What's the news?
Toyota may have relinquished its long held position at the top of the new vehicle sales charts to Volkswagen but it reigns supreme when it comes to used car sales. The information comes from the first Cartell.ie Used Vehicle Report, which also found that, after years of uncertainty, the used vehicle market is beginning to return to its usual three- or four-year sales cycle.
Using information from both the private and commercial sectors Cartell.ie found that there are nearly 18,000 more Toyotas on Irish roads than nearest rival Ford. Hardly surprising when you consider how long Toyota held the top spot, though this year so far Ford is actually the biggest seller ahead of Volkswagen - with Toyota falling to third.
Used vehicle sales during Q1 of 2014 are also up on those for the same period in 2013 with increased sales in every county in Ireland. The highest rises in used vehicle sales were recorded in Galway (+23%), Wicklow (+23.5%), Offaly (+24.95%), Monaghan (+24.54%), Cavan (+28.18%) and Clare (+24%), but Dublin tops the charts with the largest number of overall transactions at 110,603.
Analysing the results, John Byrne of Cartell.ie, says: "The market has picked up considerably in 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. Every county in Ireland has recorded more used vehicle transactions this year. In particular transactions have been strong in Galway where unit transactions have increased from 14,157 to 17,440 representing a very healthy 23 per cent growth year-over-year."
Anything else?
Broken down by year, used vehicle sales are beginning to show an even spread with no significant highs or lows between years - save for a bump in 2009.
"In a normalised market we would expect to see an even spread of transactions across most of the registration years as motorists return to normal three- or four-year sales cycles, " commented John Byrne. "This was more in evidence in the first four months of 2014 than the same period in 2013. Combined with the significant increase in used vehicle transactions in the market year-over-year we are clearly seeing signs of a return to what we would consider a normalised used market."