New car registrations decline as import numbers continue to grow

New car registrations were down over 11% in October compared to the same month last year.

This is according to new figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry.

1,725 new cars were registered in the month, down from 1,943 in October 2017.

New car registrations for the first ten months of the year were down 4.4% on the same period last year.

124,809 cars were registered up to the end of October this year. The corresponding figure for the first ten months of last year was 130,491.

Imported used car numbers continue to grow on the back of sterling weakness.

According to SIMI's figures, 9,141 used cars were imported in the month - a near 7.5% increase on the 8,507 cars imported in October last year.

For the first ten months, used car imports were up nearly 9% on the same period last year at 86,418.

"It comes as no surprise that new car registrations are down again this month, in line with the trend in the market so far this year," Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General Designate said.

"While the domestic economic backdrop continues to be positive, as evidenced by the increase in commercial vehicle registrations this year, the impact of Brexit and the associated weakness of Sterling has seen an increase in the volume of used imports, which has been to the detriment of the new car market."

Volkswagen was the top selling brand in the first ten months with the Nissan Qashqai the top selling model for the period, as well as for October.