Louth car sales hit bump in the road

LATEST FIGURES FROM SIMI SHOW AN ALMOST 16% DROP IN SALES

LOUTH car sales have continued a gradual fall of, with latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) showing a drop of almost 16% in the year on year sales.

Official statistics for the month of May showed that nationally new car registrations were down -8% (5,991) compared to (6,449) May 2016, while new cars registrations year to date are down -10% (89,791) on the same period last year (99,704).

But the picture in Louth was even more worrying as the year on year comparison showed a 15.99% fall off in sales.

At the end of May 2017, there were 1,897 new vehicle registrations, compared to 2,257 at the same point in 2016.

Commenting on the figures SIMI Direc- tor General, Alan Nolan said:” With the first five months of the year now behind us, the decline in registrations across all sectors has been a noticeable trend reflecting the unpredictable nature of the market at present.

‘As we near the end of the 171 registration period, there will undoubtedly be incentives to purchase a new car before the end of June.

Notwithstanding this the Industry and consumers are turning their focus to the second registration plate, which since its introduction has seen the proportion of the full year market occurring in the second half of the year increasing significantly. This year we will again see each brand offer innovative packages to encourage the purchase of new 172 cars.

He added that a number of events taking place across the country, including the Drogheda Motor Show taking place this weekend June 16th, ‘will give consumers the ideal opportunity to shop locally and ensure they can get the best possible deal on any new car.’

The five top Selling car brands in the year to date were firstly Volkswagen followed by Toyota, and Hyundai, Ford and in fifth place Nissan

The top car model’s year to date were Hyundai Tucson, followed by the Nissan Qashqai, and third Skoda Octavia, with the Volkswagen Golf, and Ford Focus

The top selling car during the month of May was the Volkswagen Polo.