Car sales hold firm as Kerry avoids dip

IN spite of a nationwide slump car sales in Kerry held steady in January.

New figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry showed that across the county the number of new cars sold in January fell by an average of 3.5 per cent compared with the January 2019 figure.

While Kerry didn’t see a significant growth in sales – just four more new cars were sold last month than the previous January – the market didn’t experience the major slump seen in many other parts of the country.

In Longford, for example, new car sales were down by a massive 21 per cent while motor dealers in Waterford saw their new car sale figures plunge by 16 per cent.

Kerry fared considerably better with sales of 728 new cars representing a 0.5 per cent increase on last year.

It’s a modest increase but it is very good news when looked in the national context

SIMI Director General Brian Cooke said the national picture is troubling.

“January is the most important selling month for new cars. In this regard, it is very disappointing to see a reduction in new car sales compared to January last year, the fourth consecutive year in which there has been a fall,” he said.

“January also saw a significant decline in used imports, and while it may be too early to tell, the introduction of the NOx charge (over Nitrogen Oxide emissions) on January 1 appears to have reduced demand for older used imports.

“On a more positive note, there has been a reduction of nearly six per cent in the average CO2 emissions from new cars registered in January, underlining the industry’s commitment to reducing emissions from new cars,” Mr Cooke said.