New car numbers race ahead

DESPITE economic doom and gloom, the number of new cars in the country raced ahead by almost 16% last month compared to the same time last year.

Some 17,060 cars were licensed in January in comparison to 14,724 in the first month of 2002, according to figures published by the Central Statistics Office yesterday.

However, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) said the exact car sales rise is probably lower.

“We think it’s about a rise of 6% because many cars bought in December weren’t registered until January,” SIMI chief executive Cyril McHugh said.

“Usually license and sales figures are closer, but not last month.”

And the CSO also reported a drop of 18.5% in the number of secondhand cars sold last month.

The total number of all vehicles licensed in January was 21,256, compared to 18,219 in the corresponding month of 2002.

There were 436 motorbikes licensed in January and 205 of these were bought in Dublin.

The sale of goods vehicles, mainly vans used for commercial work, increased from 2,222 last year to 2,712.

The majority of cars were licensed in Dublin city and county, where 4,929 new vehicles went on the road.

Car sales for 2002 dropped 5% from the 2001 level but a much bigger fall had been predicted.

Strong car sales in December meant the year closed with the fourth highest number of purchases ever.

The SIMI believes sales will remain high this year but they have noticed a drop in demand in February.

“The economy is still very robust and the motor industry is looking forward to another good year,” Mr McHugh said.

“So many cars were bought in 2000 and we hope people will be trading these in this year.”

The motor industry group has also called on insurance companies to reduce motor premiums immediately.