Pressure for new motor swappage deal

by EDDIE CUNNINGHAM 

PRESSURE is building for a new car swappage scheme in the Budget as figures show sales were up last month but are still well down on 2012.

Figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) reveal a 28pc increase in registrations for September, but for the year to date sales have fallen by 7pc.

The numbers might have been worse only for the sales surge in July that coincided with the new mid-year 132-registration.

The 7pc decline comes on top of a 12pc drop last year.

The registrations mean 2013 will be the second worst year since the recession started: 2009 (59,000 registrations) was the worst.

To counteract the downward trend next year, the industry is asking the Government to give a €2,000 VRT rebate on new cars bought by owners trading in vehicles aged six years or more.

Observers say the €2,000 would be matched by dealers – knocking a total of €4,000 off a new car's price.

Despite the gloom, one area seems to be bucking the trend. The figures show the executive BMW 5-series was the best selling car in the country last month – repeating its similar feat in August.

It headed off the Volkswagen Golf and SEAT Leon. Volkswagen is the top selling make for the year so far, followed by Toyota and Ford. The VW Golf is the year's best seller with the Nissan Qashqai and Ford Focus making up the top three.

Alan Nolan, director general of SIMI, said the 132-reg plate in July was the only bright spot this year. "The second registration period improved this year's performance from 15pc down at the end of May to 7pc down at the end of September."

SIMI insists a swappage scheme would put more tax revenue in the coffers, create and underpin jobs and put more people in lower-emission cars.

One sign of slow economic recovery could lie in van and truck sales. The figures show 821 new vans were registered last month – up 21.8pc – and sales for the year so far are only 1pc down.

And there were 153 trucks sold in September, an increase of 34.2pc. So far this year 1,363 new trucks have been sold, which is a substantial 18.3pc rise on last year.