New car sales were up 30 per cent in the first quarter of 2015 compared to last year, with 64,716 new cars registered up to the end of March.
Volkswagen is the best-selling brand with 7,901 new cars registered in the first three months of the year. That gives the German car giant a 12.2 per cent market share, ahead of rivals Toyota with 7,134 registrations and Ford with 6,627.
Korean car firm Hyundai continued its sales surge, taking fourth place in the market with 6,123 registrations, representing a 9.5 per cent market share. Its sales are up nearly 40 per cent on the same period last year.
The growth in the market is largely reflected across all brands with sales up by 52 per cent at Nissan, which recorded 5,913 new registrations on the back of the arrival of its new Qashqai crossover. The best-selling car so far this year is the Volkswagen Golf, with 3,223 registrations in 2015.
At the premium end of the market Audi remains in the lead with 2,613 registrations, ahead of BMW with 2,147. And it's at the premium end of the market where the largest percentage increase in new car sales has been recorded: Porsche sales are up 113 per cent so far this year, with 32 new cars registered compared to 15 last year.
The economic recovery can also be noticed in the fact that five new Maseratis, two Teslas and three BMW i8 hybrid supercars have been registered in Ireland this year.
At the other end, the budget brand Dacia recorded 1,699 new car sales, up 65 per cent on the first quarter of last year.
On a month-by-month comparison new car sales rose 33 per cent in March compared to the same month last year, with 19,046 new registrations last month.
Commenting on the figures SIMI director general, Alan Nolan said: “The increase in car registrations for the month of March is a good reflection of the growing consumer confidence in the economy which is so important for industry. The most recent CSO Consumer Price Index had confirmed a reduction in the price of cars and in the cost of fuel, with petrol and diesel prices both down. The position for consumers has also improved in relation to the availability of finance and a wider range of finance options. With disposable income also beginning to increase we can be confident that the improving volumes in vehicle should continue to grow over the coming months.”
