New car sales exceed 100,000 for first time since 2008

New car sales have already reached 109,960, the first time they have exceeded 100,000 since 2008. Registration figures for July show that 27,633 new cars were registered, up 47.68 per cent on the same month last year.

July is a busy month for dealers as it kicks off the second registration period of the year.

Volkswagen is the best selling car brand so far this year, with 13,491 registrations, representing 12.27 per cent of the new car market. It's followed by Toyota with 11,726 registrations (10.66 per cent market share); Ford with 10,714 (9.74 per cent); andHyundai with 10,711 (9.74 per cent). The Korean brand recorded a remarkably successful month, with 3,154 sales, making it the best selling brand in July.

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The best selling car, however, remains the VW Golf with 4,860 registrations this year, followed by the Ford focus and the NissanQashqai. And despite the continued popularity of diesel engines, petrol is starting to make a comeback, now representing 27.42 per cent of total sales. There has also been a rise in the number of electric cars sold, although the number is still relatively small at 398 registrations over the first seven months of 2015.

New car sales have already reached 109,960, the first time they have exceeded 100,000 since 2008. Registration figures for July show that 27,633 new cars were registered, up 47.68 per cent on the same month last year.

July is a busy month for dealers as it kicks off the second registration period of the year.

Volkswagen is the best selling car brand so far this year, with 13,491 registrations, representing 12.27 per cent of the new car market. It's followed by Toyota with 11,726 registrations (10.66 per cent market share); Ford with 10,714 (9.74 per cent); and Hyundai with 10,711 (9.74 per cent). The Korean brand recorded a remarkably successful month, with 3,154 sales, making it the best selling brand in July.

The best selling car, however, remains the VW Golf with 4,860 registrations this year, followed by the Ford focus and the Nissan Qashqai. And despite the continued popularity of diesel engines, petrol is starting to make a comeback, now representing 27.42 per cent of total sales. There has also been a rise in the number of electric cars sold, although the number is still relatively small at 398 registrations over the first seven months of 2015.

Van sales up

Sales of new light commercial vehicles - a bellwether for economic activity in the SME sector - were also up 49 per cent in July at 3,768, bringing the total for the first seven months to 18,426, a rise of 54 per cent on the same period last year.

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) are also up for the month of July 41 per cent (291) compared to the same month last year (207) and overall are up 9 per cent (1,556).

Tax take

The latest quarterly review by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry and DoneDeal says the increase in car sales activity has resulteed in a EUR761 million return to the Irish exchequer from new and used car sales since the start of the year, representing 3.7 per cent of t he total tax income of the State this year.

The SIMI/DoneDeal Review also highlighted the key contribution of the motor sector in relation to job creation with 13.6 per cent of all new jobs in Ireland in the past 12 months being created across the motor trade. with 5,600 new jobs created since June 2014.

Jobs growth

Speaking at the launch the Minister of State for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation said; "The Motor Industry plays a key role in providing employment across the country in both rural and urban areas. I am greatly encouraged by the 14 per cent growth in employment across the industry in the last year and in particular I am delighted at the Motor industry's commitment to employing and training young people via the apprenticeship system."

The buoyancy in the market has seen the predictions for this year's end of year totals increase to a projected 123,000 new car registrations for 2015. This would be a 27 per cent growth on 2014. These projections will mean delivery of an additional EUR219million for the Exchequer, 3,400 additional jobs and moves 2016's predicted new car sales to 145,000.

Author of the report, economist Jim Power, said: "Given the upward momentum in the auto sector and the increasingly strong contribution it is making to Exchequer revenues, employment and regional economic activity, it is important that Budget 2016 should not make any changes that could adversely affect car sales."

Mark Boggan, President of the SIMI, said: "This is the third year of the dual registration plate which has been a real success, allowing the industry to better structure its business year. We now have sales occurring in the second half of the year at rates never seen before as consumers have embraced the opportunity to purchase their new car in July. July this year reached 93 per cent of the January sales figure, compared to 82 per cent last year, 67 per cent in 2013 and 21 per cent in 2012 the last year before the new system was introduced."