What's the news?
Almost half of people in Ireland are planning to change car in 2017, according to the latest Carzone.ie Motoring Report.
As part of the bi-annual report, a survey of over 1,600 Irish motorists revealed that 45 per cent of people in the country are planning a purchase, with 28 per cent spending anything between €10,000 and €20,000, and a further 27 per cent looking to splash out between €20,000 and €40,000. That means more than 25 per cent in total are spending up to €40,000 on a new car in the coming 12 months.
The survey data was bolstered by analysing the 108 million searches carried out on Carzone.ie in the first ten months of 2016. Around 16 per cent of the searches on Carzone were for 2016 model year (MY) vehicles, while a further 10 per cent were for 2012MY.
Further, the report shows a quarter of the respondents will use their savings to buy a car in 2017, while one in five will take out a loan from a credit union and another 13 per cent will look at finance options such as PCP.
For anyone planning to sell a car next year, 22 per cent will do so online while 37 per cent will trade in their motor. In general, men are more confident about selling their car online than women (49 per cent versus 29 per cent). Only a very small minority felt that Brexit's impact on the industry would impact or delay their decision to buy a car in 2017, with 91 per cent saying it had no effect on their intentions to purchase.
Running costs were also assessed and this year it's the cost of car insurance that worries Irish motorists the most, followed by fuel prices and then motor tax. Diesel makes up 68 per cent of the most recent car purchases of the respondents, while 54 per cent of those surveyed said they spend up to €250 per month on costs and servicing - though 14 per cent spend more than €300 per month.
And as for the actual cars themselves, it's the Volkswagen Golf that most captures our imagination, as it's the most searched-for used vehicle on Carzone. The Ford Focus, second in the last report, has slipped to fifth as German premium machines take over the top six: second was the BMW 5 Series; third, the same manufacturer's 3 Series; fourth was the Audi A4; and climbing into sixth was the Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
While diesels continue to be popular in searches (81 per cent), petrol-electric hybrid sales are up 58 per cent compared to the same period last year, while electric car sales soared 94 per cent during 2016.
Anything else?
Ailish Tully, brand manager at Carzone, said: "This is the seventh Carzone Motoring Report and this time around, we wanted to look at the year ahead and consumer sentiment. The report finds that overall the outlook for the industry is positive, with almost half of people questioned planning to buy a car in the next year. It was also interesting to see that newer models were some of the most searched for cars in the first ten months of the year and that more than one in four are willing to spend between €20,000 and €40,000. This higher price point is also reflected in our car searches with a number of premium marques such as BMW, Audi and Mercedes featuring in the top six."