New car sales fell 42% in June to 6,370 units (down from 11,007 in June '11and if the Scrappage cars sold last June are excluded, this drop is 7.5%

So far this year new car sales are down 13.5% with a total of 10,422 fewer cars sold compared to the first 6 months of last year. There is some better news in the light commercial sector with van sales rising by 5% for June. However the year-to-date figure is back by 5%. Heavy Commercial Vehicles sales are faring better and while there was a fall off of 17% in June sales are up by 17% overall this year so far.

"With half the year gone and car sales down by 10,000 units, business is extremely fragile and levels of activity are set to reduce for the rest of the year, so protecting jobs will be a key challenge for the sector in the months ahead," says Alan Nolan, Director General SIMI. "The figures for the month of June show a huge drop; down 42%, but this needs to be seen in context. June last year was the final month of Scrappage, which saw 4,119 cars sold under the Scheme, so the year to date figure, showing a fall of 13.5%, is more relevant here.

"The Government is in the process of reviewing Road Tax and VRT, at a very challenging time for the Motor Industry and we are reassured by the fact that detailed consultations have taken place on the review but we have to caution that any negative changes in such a low market will have a direct impact on employment. It's important that jobs are protected and measures to stimulate growth will deliver more for the Exchequer than increasing the burden of taxation," added Mr. Nolan

"This time last year, 77,079 new cars had been sold. This is likely to be very close to the overall total for the entire twelve months of this year. It is crucial both for State revenues and for employment that the sector does not continue to contract next year. 37,000 people work in the Motor Industry, which is the equivalent of the Telecommunications, Legal and Accounting industries combined," he concluded