New car sales dropped by 6.4% last year

New car sales were down 6.4% in 2013 compared with the previous year, although the sale of new commercial vehicles was up 3% over the same period, according to the website, MotorCheck.ie.

The industry had been expecting new car sales to reach 75,000 units last year, but the eventual figure was just under 1,000 units off this target.

Volkswagen was the top manufacturer, followed by Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, and Nissan respectively. Hyundai was the biggest winner with sales up 12.33%.

The Volkswagen Golf was the top model followed by the Nissan Qashqai, Ford Focus, Fiesta and Volkswagen Passat respectively.

The used car market was also very buoyant with a 25% increase on used vehicles (10,000 units) imported during 2013, added MotorCheck.ie.

The Ford Focus, Audi A4, Volkwagen Golf and Passat, and the Toyota Avensis were the top five models imported from abroad during 2013, while the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series both appeared in the top 10.

“With a shortage of used stock in the country, unsavoury practices are more evident than ever in the used car market,” said Michael Rochford, the managing director of Motorcheck.ie.

“We encounter the horror stories on a daily basis, and now more than ever consumers considering the purchase of a used car need to protect themselves from clocking, badly repaired write-offs, and vehicles under finance.”

MotorCheck.ie also revealed that 5,000 cars were towed from NCT centres during 2013 because they were deemed too dangerous to be driven.

“Hopes are high for 2014 being a return to previous years with sales approaching the 100K mark,” Mr Rochford said.