11% drop in new vehicle registrations

THE number of new car registrations for October is down 11.2% compared to last year, figures reveal.

Society of the Irish Motor Industry said there were 1,725 this month compared to 2017.

Registrations to date are down 4.4% on the same period last year.

SIMI director Brian Cooke said: “The domestic economic backdrop continues to be positive, as evidenced by the increase in commercial vehicle registrations this year.

“But the impact of Brexit and the weakness of Sterling has seen an increase in the volume of used imports, to the detriment of the new car market.”