New car sales down 15 per cent

New car sales for the first two months of the year are down 15 per cent on the corresponding period last year, figures released today by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry confirm.

New car sales for February with eight per cent lower than the same month last year, while Heavy Commercial Vehicle sales for February were 16 per cent ahead of last year, while Light Commercial Vehciel sales shrunk by 18 per cent.

Brian Cooke, Deputy Director General, SIMI: “While still down on last year, the fall in February was significantly less than it had been in January. We weren’t expecting any significant boost from the new number plate system in year one, but at least people now understand that the new system will be continued in future years and the misconception that it was for this year only has dissipated.”

“We still however expect the new registration plate to take some time to take hold, and hopefully it will continue to create interest as more and more of the new plates are seen on the roads. Clearly sales in March will be closely watched as the first quarter will be crucial as to how the year pans out.”

“On the used car side, feedback from retailers is that there is increased activity in this sector and hopefully this improvement will continue as the year goes on.”