New car sales stay steady in new year

OFFICIAL statistics released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that the total new car registrations for the month of February were steady, as registrations were very much in line (17,081) when compared to February 2017 (17,089), while new cars registrations year to date remain -3.5 per cent (54,143) down on the same period last year (56,092).

In Kerry new car sales were down slightly falling by five per cent on last year.

In all 1,266 new vehicles were registered across Kerry in January and February compared to 1,341 in the same period last year.

The new Commercial Vehicle sector showed a mixed result between Light and Heavy Commercial Vehicle registrations. New Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations were up 6.13 per cent (2,634) on February 2017 (2,487) and year to date are up six per cent (9,356). While New Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HGV) have declined 10 per cent for the month of February (243) compared to the same month last year (270) and are down 11 per cent (646) year to date.

Imported Used Cars have increase by 14.4 per cent February 2018 (8,903) and year to date are 17.3 per cent (17,964) ahead of 2017 (15,317).

“New car registrations for the month of February delivered a steady performance when compared with the same month last year, however registrations overall remaining 3.5 per cent down year to date. The increase in the light commercial vehicle sector reflects the strong growth for businesses, particularly in the local economy, while HGVs which may be more impacted by Brexit concerns, remain down 11 per cent. The Brexit impact is also visible in the continued growth in used car imports which were 15.7 per cent up in February,” said SIMI Director General Alan Nolan.