What's the news?
The Irish market for new cars got off to a slightly wobbly start in January, as 39,019 new vehicles were registered, a fall of 1.75 per cent compared to January last year. That's less than the 10-15 per cent drop in sales that some had been predicting in the run up to January, but still sufficient to have some people getting a bit worried.
Jim Power Economist and author of a review issued by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry said that: "looking ahead to 2017, while the outlook for car sales is a bit more difficult to predict than last year, the projected growth in personal disposable incomes and the availability of credit provide solid support for car sales. However, the impact of Brexit and the increased volume in imported used cars are other issues that may impact on new car sales this year. Overall, though, numbers should be fairly close to last year with perhaps a slight decline of around 3 per cent in new car sales in 2017, which would imply new car sales of around 142,000."
Alan Greene SIMI President commented: "The Motor Industry continues to be a strong contributor to employment with 40,800 people employed throughout Ireland. Last year our Industry contributed €1.5 Billion to the Exchequer in car sales alone. 2017 was always going to be a more cautious year for businesses, right across the economy, but we have seen a steady start in January and hopefully we are on track for another good year and continuation of a stable market during the rest of the year".
Light commercial vehicle sales (vans to you and I) were also down and down more significantly, with a 2.4 per cent fall.
Hyundai retained the best-selling model title which it held all though 2016 with the Tucson SUV. It was followed by the Ford Focus, Ford Fiesta (impressive for a car which will shortly be replaced), Nissan Qashqai and Volkswagen Golf.
The top-selling brands were Hyundai, Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen and Nissan.
There are concerns though that car makers and dealers are, once again, resorting to late-month pre-registrations to artificially boost their sales numbers. According to Motorcheck, some 5,063 cars were registered on the last day of January, while 7,575 cars were imported from the UK - a rise of 67 per cent compared with January 2016.
Commenting on the figures, Michael Rochford Managing Director of Motorcheck.ie, said: "it was predicted that this year's new car sales would be on a par or even slightly down on last year. It is evident early on that equalling last year's performance is going to be a challenge for the motor trade in Ireland this year. Due to Brexit and current exchange rates the surge in used cars imported from the UK has continued with over 7.5k units being imported in Jan 2017. That's an increase of over 67 per cent on last year. This affects new car sales as many consumers will opt for a bigger used car or one with a better spec rather than buying new. However, consumers need to beware as we have seen an increase in clocked and written off cars being imported to Ireland in recent times."