Following on from yesterday's announcement that Ireland is officially out of recession, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has today (July 1) released new car sales figures for the first six months of 2010, revealing a significant increase in the number of cars sold and hence a massive cash injection for the Government's coffers.
A total of 67,846 passenger cars were sold to the end of June 2010, a significant 21,000 more units than the same period in 2009. More impressively, there have already been 10,000 more new cars sold this year than in the whole of 2009.
While these figures will please the motor industry, the country as a whole benefits. A total of €430 million has been collected in VAT and VRT from new car sales this year so far. That's €60m more than in the same period last year.
Commenting on the half yearly figures, SIMI Press Officer Suzanne Sheridan said, "Undoubtedly, this significant improvement in registrations has been greatly assisted by the government scrappage scheme. This has resulted in increased showroom activity, and with manufacturers and dealers adding additional discounts across all new cars for sale, the increase in sales is reflected not just in scrappage sales. We predicted that with the stimulation of scrappage, 70,000 cars would be sold this year, but we are nearing that figure just six months in. This increase in business activity is already having a positive knock-on effect to the wider economy in increased government revenue and job protection in the motor industry."
The best-selling cars this year so far are:
1: Ford Focus
2: Volkswagen Golf
3: Ford Fiesta
4: Nissan Qashqai
5: Renault Mégane