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New car registrations increase in June

Pessimism still reigns in the car trade, in spite of June sales increase.

Registrations of new cars in Ireland jumped up again in June, the fourth month in succession when they have done so. Statistics released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that June's registration figures were actually up by 13 per cent compared to June last year. The outright figures aren't all that massive - 1,410 sales in June 2019 compared to 1,248 in June 2018 - but it's yet another month of increases in car registrations as the market tries to figure out what's going to happen with Brexit, imports, and the car tax system.

Overall registrations still down

Overall registrations are still down for the year as a whole, falling by 7.4 per cent (80,712 so far this year, compared to 87,116 at the same point last year) and car importers and dealers will be hoping for a significant sales rush in the coming couple of weeks as the 192 July registration change kicks in.

The question is, if customers come in in July, will they be around in January? There are severe worries that if the Government doesn't amend the car taxation system, then the implementation of new WLTP emissions regulations in January - which will drive up official recorded emissions figures and therefore prices and motor tax costs - then the market next year could plummet to the sort of derisory levels we saw in 2009. Because of that scenario hanging in the air, the mood in the car trade is still pessimistic in spite of the increase in registrations in June.

Government urged to tread carefully

Commenting on the registration figures Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General said "Despite Ireland's strong economic performance, new car sales for the first six months of the year have been disappointing, 7.4 per cent down on the same period last year and over 20 per cent down over the last 3 years. Every county in Ireland has seen a reduction on last year, reflecting the uncertain trading environment arising from Brexit. Today marks that start of the 192-registration period, which offers retailers some respite, and with a variety of competitive offers available there should be a brief upturn in showroom activity. Many in the industry are already turning their focus on October's Budget, which coincides with Brexit.

In the current fragile business context, SIMI is urging the Government to exercise extreme caution in dealing with motor related taxation. The motorist should not be burdened with an increase in taxation on new cars, as this will only further dampen demand. The industry supports some 47,000 jobs, and dramatic taxation changes could undermine this level of employment, the new and used car markets, Government revenues, and our ability to renew our national car fleet which in turn could hamper Ireland's ability to meet its international environmental targets."

Electric cars continue to perform strongly, even if their overall figures are still a small proportion of the market, with a total of 1,954 EV cars registered so far this year, which surpasses the total number of EVs registered for the whole 2018 (1,233).

New Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations are up 8.4 per cent (752) on June 2018 (694), with registrations year to date down 7.6 per cent (15,386). While New Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HGV) increased 72.68 per cent (316) in comparison to June 2018 (183) and year to date are up 14.6 per cent (1,797) Imported Used Cars for June saw a slight decrease down 1.0 per cent (8,060) on the same month last year (8,140) while year to date imports are 2.4 per cent (53,120) ahead of 2018 (51,879).

Opel Astra was June's best-seller

Volkswagen continues to be the top-selling brand in the country, followed by Toyota, Hyundai, Ford and Skoda. The best-selling cars so far this year are the Nissan Qashqai, Hyundai Tucson, Toyota Corolla, Volkswagen Tiguan, and Skoda Octavia. June's best-seller was, somewhat surprisingly, the Opel Astra.

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Published on July 1, 2019