The Irish car industry is making a last-ditch appeal to the Government not to increase motoring taxes in next week's Budget.
Sales up a little in September
The call comes as car registrations in September show a marginal increase over the same month last year. 3,428 new cars were registered last month, compared to 3,192 in September of 2018. Overall, though, it still means that new car registrations have fallen for the year as a whole by 7.5 per cent, from 123,195 to 113,958.
Imports still rising
Much of that fall-off is, of course, down to the continued weakness of Sterling agains the Euro, which is keeping Irish buyers' eyes fixed on importing used UK cars at the expense of new car sales from Irish dealers and distributors. Used car imports in September grew by a massive 20 per cent (10,220 cars) compared to the same month last year, and that brings the total number of imports for the year to date to 82,532 - a rise of 6.7 per cent.
'Can't afford to get Budget 2020 wrong'
Commenting on the registration's figures Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General said: "With the announcement of Budget 2020 only a week away, we in SIMI continue to underline to Government not to increase taxation on new cars. New car sales have fallen in each of the last three years, and with Brexit now only weeks away, business risk in our sector is at its highest level in almost a decade. In this uncertain business and consumer environment, any taxation increase would only further undermine an already fragile new car market. This in turn will endanger both Exchequer Revenues and employment, while at the same time act as a barrier to the renewal of Ireland's car fleet which is key to reducing emissions from transport. Our Industry can't afford for the Government to get Budget 2020 wrong, as the impact would have far reaching consequences that could extend for many years well beyond 2020."
Electric cars continue to provide a glimmer of light amid the gloom - sales of EVs have risen by 153 per cent for the year to date, and they were up by 20 per cent in September, compared to September 2018.
The best-selling brand so far this year is Volkswagen, followed by Toyota, Hyundai, Ford, and Skoda. The best selling model so far in 2019 is the Toyota Corolla, followed by the Hyundai Tucson, Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Octavia, and Volkswagen Tiguan.