Irish sales of luxury sports cars surge by 50%
The number of new Porsches, the Hollywood status symbol driven by the likes of Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, has doubled in Ireland in the past year.
Meanwhile, a brand new Bentley, the super luxurious British brand used by Simon Cowell to cruise around LA, which has a price tag of up to half a million euro, was sold in this country this year for the first time in five years.
The Porshe 918 Spyder, driven by famous car nuts Jay Leno and Jerry Seinfeld, was sold in Belfast earlier this year for almost €1m.
Director general of the Society of Irish Motor Industry (Simi), Alan Nolan, said the spike in luxury car sales shows motorists are becoming more comfortable again in snapping up these cars.
“While most of the country suffered during the recession some people continued to do well, as consumer confidence is on the increase and the economy is starting to lift, these people perhaps feel more confident to purchase these types of cars to reflect their success,” he said.
“During recessionary times people held onto their vehicles for longer as they were uncertain of the future, but now with consumer confidence on the rise this is also reflected in the increase in car sales.”
The number of cars which sold for over €80,000 saw a sharp rise, from 253 in 2013 to 572 this year so far.
The director of Simi said the State gets a large slice of the price tag of the uber-luxury car brands.
He said: “A new car on average provides the Government with €8,250 in Vat and VRT long with additional revenue from employment taxes.
“Luxury cars of €80,000 of course yield an even greater amount for the exchequer, well in excess of €20,000 per car.”
During the boom year of 2007, high rollers splashed their cash on 135 Porsches, six Ferraris, two Rolls Royces and 31 Bentleys, along with 951 Range Rovers, but the number crashed during the recession.
But the sports car made a comeback in 2014 with 42 Porches rolled out of Irish showrooms — double the 21 Porsches snapped up in 2013.
The sports car starts off with a price tag of €70,000 and runs to €275,000 for the most elite models.
The number of Maseratis, which sell for €130,000, rose from one to three , while an Aston Martin, which can sell for between €120,000 and €300,000 for the top models, was also sold in the country.
Meanwhile, Mr Nolan said he is expecting car sales to continue to rise with the economic recovery.
He said: “We are confident that car sales will continue to grow, total new car sales this year are 95,989 showing an increase of 30% on 2013 when 73,454 were sold.”
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