Consumers appeared to be less reluctant to buy cars in August than in previous months, with new registrations falling just 4.2 per cent to 4,875, according to data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (Simi).
Though the drop in August is less pronounced than in previous months, new car registrations are still down 28.6 per cent so far this year compared to the same period last year.
Almost 79,000 cars have been newly-registered this year, compared to 110,527 between January and August 2019.
July, which is the start of the 202 registration window, saw a fall of 14.04 per cent for new car sales.
Used-car imports again suffered disproportionately in August, down 16 per cent in the month to 8,143. So far this year used car imports are 45 per cent lower than in the same period in 2019.
“August represents another disappointing month for new car sales, with sales again down on the same month last year, as they have been each month of 2020,” said Simi director general Brian Cooke.
“The industry is operating at the same business levels as 10 years ago when the sector shed close to 15,000 jobs. The outlook for 2021 is not optimistic; with the negative impact of both Covid and Brexit new car sales will continue at recession levels.
Reduction
“With Budget 2021 only weeks away, now is the time for a significant reduction in vehicle registration tax (VRT),” Mr Cooke said. “This would enable the car market to return to normal sustainable levels that would not only save jobs, but increase overall tax take and help renew the Irish car fleet.”
Sales of new diesel cars are 33 per cent lower than over the first eight months of last year, although, with 34,293 diesel cars sold diesel remains the most popular engine type in the market with a 43 per cent share.
Sales of fully electric cars are actually up 3.4 per cent this year, but from a low base, with 2,956 vehicles sold.
Meanwhile, sales of petrol plug-in hybrid vehicles have grown by 80 per cent, with 2,129 cars so ld so far this year.
Petrol cars account for 37 per cent of all new cars sold this year, while fully electric cars account for just 3.75 per cent.
Volkswagen has held its place as the best-selling car brand in the Republic, with 9,509 registrations so far this year. Its market share is also up, but the carmaker has sold almost 25 per cent fewer cars here so far this year.
Toyota is in second place with 9,182 cars sold, while Hyundai and Skoda are next with 7,551 and 6,725 cars sold respectively.
Brands
Premium brands Porsche and Tesla are the only companies to have seen growth in the year to date compared to the same period last year.
Tesla has sold 505 vehicles so far this year, up from 63 in the same period last year, while Porsche has seen growth of 70 per cent, representing a total of 99 vehicles registered so far this year.
Also at the premium end of the market, Audi recorded 3,162 sales, ahead of BMW with 2,687 and Mercedes-Benz with 2,620.
The best-selling individual model remains the Toyota Corolla with 3,487 registrations, ahead of the Hyundai Tucson with 2,830, and the Volkswagen Tiguan with 2,725.
In terms of colours, close to 30,000 Irish buyers favoured grey. More than 14,000 opted for a black vehicle, while almost 12,000 chose white.
In the commercial sector light commercial vehicle sales fell 11 per cent in August to 1,683 compared to August last year, with total sales so far this year at 16,700, a 23.8 per cent fall on 2019.
Heavy goods vehicles sales are down 25 per cent to 1,641 so far this year.
