Cork port to look at building 6,000-space car storage facility amid surge in imports

Port is expecting the arrival of an estimated 8,000 new vehicles this month

The Grimaldi car transport vessel, Grande Anversa, which docked at the Port of Cork in Ringaskiddy over the weekend with the first of an estimated 8,000 new cars which are due to be delivered to the port this month alone.

The Port of Cork Company is exploring the possibility of building a vast 6,000-space multi-storey storage compound for new cars after it had to open a new facility to cope with a 60% surge in car imports.

The port, which usually takes delivery of some 5,000 trade cars at its Ringaskiddy facility in January, is gearing up for the arrival of an estimated 8,000 new vehicles this month.

Its existing car storage facility at Ringaskiddy has reached capacity, leading to a port company decision to allocate a new car storage facility at Paddy’s Point for the first time.

“This temporary expansion is required to ensure the smooth and efficient handling of this substantial shipment,” the port said on Monday.

Almost 3,000 cars arrived on two different vessels this weekend alone, including a range of Volkswagen, Audi, Cupra, Seat, and Skoda models, with companies including OGMA, Euromed Ireland Logistics Ltd, National Vehicle Distribution, Mainport, Doyle Shipping Group and the Grimaldi Group, all involved in the various shipping operations.

The new cars will soon be making their way to dealerships around the country.

Three more Grimaldi car-transport vessels are expected to arrive to the Port of Cork by February.

Now, to accommodate expected future demand, the port company has signed a memorandum of understanding with National Vehicle Distribution and Euromed Ireland Logistics to explore the development of a new multi-storey car storage facility at Ringaskiddy, with capacity for 6,000 cars.

Conor Mowlds, chief commercial officer at the Port of Cork Company, said the substantial increase in car shipments was a testament to the robust demand in the automotive industry, where recent industry figures show car sales have surged 20% since 2019.

“The increased activity is expected to boost trade and create positive ripple effects across various sectors. It is especially promising to see more and more EVs entering the Irish market," Mr Mowlds said. 

 “The increase in car volumes in one year alone demonstrates the requirement for a new permanent multi-story car storage facility at Ringaskiddy.

“We expect approximately 50,000 trade cars to pass through the port this year, which is forecast to increase further as the population rises.”

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry published figures last week which show that total new car registrations for 2023 finished at 121,850, up 16% on the 2022 figure of 105,398, and up 4% on the 2019 figure of 117,109.

A total of 22,789 new electric cars were registered last year compared to 15,678 in 2022, and 3,444 in 2019, a massive 561.7% increase.

Imported used cars saw 50,716 registrations in 2023, up just over 9% on 2022, but down 55.48% on 2019.

Petrol is still the most popular engine type, accounting for 30.07% of all engines last year, with diesel at 22.16%, however, electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid accounted for 45.5% of the market.

Automatic transmissions now account for 64.54% of market share.