New car registrations still going up
THERE were 300 more new car registrations in Mayo for the first five months of this year compared to last year.
With 1,952 registrations from the start of January to the end of May compared to 1,652 for the same period last year, it represents an 18.16% increase.
Nationally, new car registrations for the month of May were down -6% (6,532) compared to May 2015 (6,919), although total new car sales since the start of the year are up 23% (99,740) on the same period last year (80,889).
Other official statistics released today by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that light commercial vehicles (LCV) are currently up 8% (1,839) on May 2015 (1,705) and year to date are up 27% (17,561) overall, while heavy goods vehicle (HGV) registrations are up 38% for the month of May (307) 2016 compared to the same month last year (222) and up 53% year to date.
Commenting on the figurers, SIMI director general Alan Nolan said: “After three years of sustained growth year-on-year, the industry took a pause for breath in May this year. The new shape of seasonality in the industry is settling in, with the sector now beginning to turn its focus on the 162 period for new car sales.
“Since the introduction of the dual registration plate system, the percentage of new car registrations occurring in the second half of the year has been increasing year-on-year from 14% in 2011 to 34% last year. This new shape to the year does give dealers a better opportunity to focus on used car sales at this stage in the year to help clear the decks in anticipation of the next key sales period for new cars.
“The overall registration numbers are very strong and set the industry on course for the best registration numbers in over seven years. While many manufacturers have started their 162 campaign offerings early, the industry is still open for business on new as well as used cars in the remaining weeks of the 161 period so consumers can take advantage of attractive deals still to be had in June. As always, our advice is to get out there and shop around.”
The top five selling makes so far this year are Volkswagen, Toyota, Hyundai, Ford and Nissan, while the top five models are Hyundai Tuscon, Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus, Skoda Octavia and Nissan Qashqai.