Green shoots that first appeared in January now appear to be taking hold, as for the second month new car sales are up by over 20 per cent on the same time last year. The latest figures issued by SIMI (Society of the Irish Motor Industry) show that sales in February were up 21 per cent. This follows a 33 per cent increase in January, meaning an average increase of 28 per cent when compared to the same time period in 2013.
In the year's shortest month over 12,000 new cars were registered, with the Volkswagen Golf again being the single most popular model and contributing to Volkswagen being the brand with the largest market share. Despite an imminent update the Ford Focus continues to sell well with its 521 registrations putting it ahead of the perennial Nissan Qashqai in the sales charts.
"The Motor Industry is often the first to be affected when there's a downturn and one of the first to come back when the economy improves," said Alan Nolan, SIMI Director General. "Dealers are undoubtedly seeing a lot more confidence among consumers, many of whom have been putting off making large purchases over the last few years."
"Better availability of finance for creditworthy consumers combined with improved consumer confidence have helped make this a very good start to 2014 for the Industry. As a result, employment in the sector has also been stabilising and February saw the formation of 37 new companies in the Motor Industry in February."
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Sales of light commercial vehicles, often seen as a barometer of activity in the SME sector, were up 41 per cent in February, while sales of heavy goods vehicles were up a whopping 68 per cent.