Imported car numbers up as new vehicle sales plummet

The number of imported cars coming into the country jumped by more than 8% last month despite new vehicle sales plummeting at garages.

Worried motor dealers today called for a rescue package from the Government to save up to 50,000 jobs in the industry.

Official figures for January show only 15,929 vehicles were registered – a fall of 66% on the 47,909 recorded for the same period last year.

A total of 8,208 cars were imported, up 8.4% on the 7,566 in January 2008.

Last week it emerged that leading Ford and Peugeot dealers in Dublin were closing with the total loss of 55 jobs.

The lay-offs were followed by official figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showing new car sales plunged by 19% last year.

The data from the National Vehicle and Drivers File shows the most popular car in January was the Nissan Qashqai, of which 657 models were sold, followed by the Toyota Yaris on 538 and Toyota Avensis on 535 sales.

The SIMI claims the economic downturn and the introduction of changes to Vehicle Registration Tax and Road Tax in July last year had stalled the market.

The body said tax revenue from the car industry could fall by two-thirds to €500m this year unless the Government takes action.

SIMI director general Alan Nolan called for the introduction of a new scrappage scheme for cars aged ten years or older to trigger new sales.

“The scheme will assist motorists to move to cleaner, greener vehicles and allow customers to take advantage of preferential tax rates.

“It’s a win-win situation for the Government in terms of increased tax revenue, a win for customers in terms of safety and a win for the environment in terms of cleaner cars,” he added.

Overall, Ford topped the sales list in January with 2,853 new cars followed by Toyota with 2,270, Nissan with 1,479, VW with 1,242 and Opel with 1,158.

Volkswagen Golf and Passat as well as BMW and Audi models feature in the top five imports.

Car checking firm, Cartell claims the numbers of imports from Northern Ireland and the UK are driven by the weak Sterling exchange rate as well as increased choice.

Cartell.ie director Jeff Aherne said: “Car buyers are voting with their feet to get a good bargain in the same way as shoppers going across the border.