New car sales up by 18%
NEW car sales in Ireland are likely to be more than 18 per cent higher by the end of the year than they were at the end of 2015, according to the SIMI.
The latest SIMI/DoneDeal report puts new car sales for 2016 at 147,000 and says €1.25 billion will be contributed to the Exchequer from new car sales, 24.1 per cent ahead of 2015.
This year has also been characterised by an increase of almost 39 per cent in the numbers of cars imported from the UK, many of the imports since the Brexit vote which caused the value of sterling to plummet more than 20 per cent against the euro.
The report says that new cars in Ireland are now 3.5 per cent cheaper than in September 2015, while petrol is down 5.9 per cent and diesel is down 4.6 per cent.
Light commercial vehicle sales are up 20.2 per cent and heavy commercial vehicle sales are up 38.6 per cent.
DoneDeal put its motor ads for first three quarters of 2016 at 773,441, up 8 per cent on 2015.
On the negative side, the report said motor insurance costs have risen by 68.7 per cent since September 2013.
Jim Power Economist and author of the SIMI/DoneDeal Report said: ‘ The auto industry is still performing strongly, but there have been clear signs of deceleration in sales in recent months. Looking ahead to 2017, the outlook for car sales is extremely uncertain.
‘New car sales in 2016 should be close to 147,000 and similar outturn for what is expected to be a very uncertain market due to Brexit effects.”
Alan Nolan, Director General, SIMI, said 2016 has seen the highest levels in new vehicle registrations since 2008, and while some of these sales can be attributed to a catch up in the market overall it has been a good year for the industry.
‘With the peak selling months behind us the Industry has now turned its focus to the 171 registration period as can be seen and heard in current advertising campaigns. While 2017 brings with it an air of uncertainty due to Brexit we would still expect the industry to continue to perform well, as economic indicators suggest increased spending power in the Irish economy in 2017,’ said Mr Nolan.
Most dealers are offering incentives for new car purchases over the coming weeks, with extremely low rates of finance, scrappage deals of up to €4,000 and ‘free’ accessory packs among them.