Brexit impact to blame for New Year dip in new car sales

NEW car registrations for the month of March were down 10.5% (17,796) when compared to March 2017 (19,890), while new cars registrations year to date remain 5.5% (71,842) down on the same period last year (75,982) according to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry.

The figures for Sligo from January to March for new car registrations were 671 which was down from 714 (6.02%) over the same period last year.

Commenting on the figures SIMI Director General, Alan Nolan stated “March has been a challenging trading month for our industry with snow days and two public holidays leading to shorter trading weeks, but we also had the Hire-drive deliveries at similar levels to last year to bolster registrations.

“Brexit however remains the dominant issue with used car imports up 9.5% for the First Quarter while new car registrations are down by 5.5% over the same period.

“For the month of March new car registrations (-10.5%) and used car imports (-4.6%) are both down, although it should be noted that the number of business days were reduced this year due to the Storm Emma and the Easter Holiday period, which was in April last year.

“Overall, registrations for the First Quarter remain in line with projections based on the continuing impact of Brexit and the increasing volume of imported used cars.

“The light commercial vehicle sector by contrast has seen a continued increase reflecting the strong economic growth for businesses at present.” Continuing the trend highlighted in January the diesel market share has reduced from 67% last year to 56% in 2018.