March new car registrations down 63%
The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has released official new vehicle statistics that show new car registrations for March were down 63% (6,174) compared to March 2019 (16,687).
Registrations year to date are also down 20.5% (51,015) on the same period last year (64,126). Light commercials vehicles (LCV) are down 52.9% (1,434) compared to March last year (3,044), and year to date are down 15.2% (9,378).
In some positive news for the industry, heavy goods vehicle (HGV) registrations are up 17.67% (313) in comparison to March 2019 (266), and year to date HGVs are up 12.59% (993).
Used car imports for March (4,656) have seen a decrease of 48.1% on March 2019 (8,970). Year to date, imports are down 34.9% (17,471) on 2019 (26,832).
In Mayo, there were 1,006 new car registrations from January to March 2020 compared to 1,174 in 2019, a reduction of -14.31%.
Commenting on the market figures, Brian Cooke, SIMI director general, said: “The health of our nation is the overriding priority. The motor industry will assist the State in any way we can during this pandemic. While showrooms, service and other activities within the industry are closed, members are available to assist in emergency call-out or delivery services. This will be vital in keeping essential and emergency services moving.
“The motor industry and its employees, like so many industries, is feeling the devastating impact of Covid-19. Even before the crisis commenced the new car market was in decline, and this fall has accelerated rapidly in the last fortnight, with new car activity down nearly two-thirds on last year.
“Whatever the duration of this crisis, once we emerge we will need to see decisive and ambitious action from government to protect the nearly 50,000 jobs in our sector.”
The top selling car in Ireland so far this year is the Toyota Corolla, followed by the Hyundai Tuscon, Volkswagen Tiguan, Ford Focus and Skoda Octavia. The top selling brands are Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda and Ford. The market share by engine type is: diesel 43.86%, petrol 38.42%, hybrid 12.17%, electric 3.27% and plug-in hybrid 2.02%.