120,000 new cars registered

Over 120,000 new cars were registered in Ireland last month — the biggest rise since 2008.

Official statistics released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that new car registrations jumped by 28% (2,571) last month compared to October of last year. New car registrations for the year are currently up 30% (123,670) on the same period last year.

Despite the recent emissions scandal, Volkswagen remains the most popular selling car brand in the country. It is followed by Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, and Nissan.

The Volkswagen Golf is the highest selling car model so far this year followed by the Ford Focus, Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Octavia, and Ford Fiesta. The top selling colour car last month was black. The sale of light commercial vehicles (LCV) took a hit last month and were down 13% (1,206) on October of last year. However, for the year to date, they are up 43% (22,848).

HGV (heavy goods vehicle) registrations are down 30% for the month of October (153) compared to the same month last year (221). For the year to date, they are up some 6%.

Commenting on the figures, the director general of SIMI, Alan Nolan, said it was clear that the motor industry was continuing to perform well.

“Although we are talking about relatively small numbers at this time of year, new car registrations are continuing to perform ahead of last year, month on month, as the industry continues to strive towards a more normal level of business. The success of the two-period registration system continues to be highlighted in the numbers with the 152 period delivering even better than last year’s second period,” he said.

Mr Nolan said 152 registrations are now likely to represent in excess of 34% of the year’s new car registrations compared to just less than 32% last year.

“With over 120,000 new cars registered by the end of last month, this represents the highest growth in new car registrations in seven years, as 2008 was the last year when sales were at sustainable levels,” he said.