Car sales for 2016 up 17%, highest in 8 years

New car sales in 2016 were the highest they have been in eight years.

146,000 vehicle were bought, an increase of 17% on 2015.

Motorcheck.ie claims the latest stats follow two consecutive years of 30% annual growth, putting the total sales figures for new cars back at 2008 levels.

Commenting on the figures, Michael Rochford, Managing Director of Motorcheck.ie said “it’s been another very productive year for the Irish Motor Trade with comparable proportional increases in both the New Car and Light Commercial Vehicle sectors.

"But with the advent of Brexit and the weakening of Sterling, Used Car Imports grew significantly in the second half of 2016 with each of the last 5 months of 2016 posting increases in excess of 75% on the previous year and finishing the year with just over a 50% increase in imports or 72.5k imports in total.”