New car registrations steady as February ends

Overall, the total market for new cars to the end of February was down by 3.5 per cent - 54,143 registrations this year compared to 56,092 this time last year, although the total figure for the end of March will doubtless be affected by dealership closures and reluctantly frozen customers thanks to the prevailing weather.

Commenting on the figures SIMI Director General, Alan Nolan stated: "New car registrations for the month of February delivered a steady performance when compared with the same month last year, however registrations overall remaining 3.5 per cent down year to date. The increase in the light commercial vehicle sector reflects the strong economic growth for businesses, particularly in the local economy, while HGVs which may be more impacted by Brexit concerns, remain down 11 per cent. The Brexit impact is also visible in the continued growth in used car imports which were 15.7 per cent up in February."

SIMI is now referring to the high diesel market share up to 2016, of around 70-75 per cent, as 'abnormal' and says that the diesel market is now returning to a more 'traditional' level. Diesel registrations to the end of February have fallen back to 57 per cent. According to SIMI that does mean that the average CO₂ emissions of vehicles sold so far has risen by 2.1 per cent.

So far, the top-five selling brands are Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Ford, and Nissan. The top-five selling models are the Hyundai Tucson, Nissan Qashqai, Ford Focus, Skoda Octavia, and Volkswagen Golf.

Light commercial registrations, usually a sign of how well the overall economy is doing, are up by 6.14 per cent on this time last year, but heavy goods vehicles have fallen back, by 11 per cent overall.