What's the news?
The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has reported that the total new car registrations to the end of June is 87,151 cars, down by 4.5 per cent on the total to the end of June 2017. Registrations in June amounted to 1,255 cars, a 10.4 per cent drop on June 2017's 1,400 sales.
Why are sales falling in a generally growing economy? Well, according to SIMI it's all down to cheap imports from the UK, driven by the continued depressed value of Sterling. Imports of used cars rose by 11.5 per cent in June (8,142 cars), while for the year to date, they are 12.3 per cent up on last year, with 51,879 cars being imported so far. We haven't quite got to the (oft-predicted) point where used imports account for more sales than new registrations, but it's not far off...
Commenting on the figures SIMI Director General, Alan Nolan stated: "While June has seen a decline in new car registrations of 10.4 oer cent, registrations in this month are relatively small numbers as many consumers will have waited for a 182 registration number. The more relevant measure is the Year to Date figure which shows a decline of 4.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2017. This is somewhat at odds with the growth in economic activity in the country but has to be seen in the context of the volume of used car imports which impact negatively on new car sales. Commercial vehicle registrations both light and heavy vehicles have seen some increase for the month of June, reflecting investment for businesses. This week marks the start of the 182 sales period, and with plenty of competitive offers for consumers right across the various brands, there is something for everyone. As always our best advice to consumers is shop around to find the best deal from local dealers."
On the upside, registrations of vans and light commercials was up again, by 2.06 per cent for June, and 5.7 per cent for the year so far.
And care to take a guess which was the best-selling car in June? Nope, you're all wrong - it was the Opel Corsa, a rare return to the top of the sales tree for a car that's not a family hatchback nor an SUV. So far for the year, the Nissan Qashqai remains the best-selling car, followed by the Hyundai Tucson, then the Volkswagen Golf, the Ford Focus, and the Skoda Octavia. Volkswagen is the best-selling brand for the year to date, followed by Toyota, Hyundai, Ford, and Nissan.