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Registrations of new cars in Ireland made a tentative recovery in May, the second consecutive month that has seen a small increase in numbers registered.
Total registrations for May 2019 were up by 4.7 per cent compared to last year. That's not a huge change in bald numerical terms - not quite 300 extra cars sold - but it does represent growth nevertheless, and it has reduced the fall in new car registrations so far this year to 7.6 per cent. That will be at least a crumb of comfort as dealers look forward to a 192-registration period that will continue to be affected by Brexit malaise and, closely related, used imports from the UK.
Commenting on the registrations figurers Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General said: "Registrations for the month of May, both cars and light commercial vehicles, showed an improvement on May of last year, although the increase in numerical terms was relatively small. However, sales overall year to date have been disappointing with both business and consumer Brexit related uncertainty contributing to dampened demand for new vehicles. As we move into June the Industry is now focused on preparations for the start of the July 192 registration period. This will see a variety of strong offers to consumers across all brands, and in this environment, consumers will have a wide choice of cars to choose from at a really competitive price."
Of course, imports were also up in May, by 4.1 per cent, which means the total number of used imports has now topped 45,000 cars. That's still behind the 75,000 new car registrations figure, but while that number will continue to slow as the year progresses, imports tend to stay relatively stable from month to month, so are likely to close the gap on new registrations.
Battery-powered cars are very definitely on the up, though. New electric vehicle registrations continue to grow month on month with a total of 1,902 EV cars registered so far this year, surpassing the total number of EVs registered for 2018 (1,233).
When it comes to the best-sellers lists, Volkswagen is the best-selling brand for the year to date, followed by Toyota, Hyundai, Ford, and Skoda.
The top-selling individual models are the Nissan Qashqai, Hyundai Tucson, Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Tiguan, and the Skoda Octavia.
The best-selling car in May was the Toyota Corolla, the second month in a row that Toyota's new model has topped the charts.
Hyundai's Kona Electric is the best-selling electric car for the year-to-date thus far, with the Nissan Leaf in second place, and the Volkswagen e-Golf in third.