The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has released the official car sales figures for July as part of the 2nd Quarter SIMI Motor Industry Review in association with DoneDeal. 

The "152” sales figures for July are up 48% (27,633) compared to (18,711) July 2014 and are currently up 30% (109,960) for the first half of 2015. Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) were up 49% (3,768) on July 2014 (2,535) and year to date are up 54% (18,426). Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGV) are also up for the month of July 41% (291) compared to the same month last year (207) and overall are up 9% (1,556).

The Review compiled by Economist Jim Power has highlighted a 25.4% increase in car sales so far in 2015 with the price of a new car down on average of 2.9%. This increase has seen the Irish Exchequer benefit by €761million from new and used car sales since the start of the year, 3.7% of the total tax taken by the State this year.

The Review also highlighted the key contribution of the Motor Industry in relation to job creation with 13.6% of all new jobs in Ireland in the past 12 months being created across the Motor Industry.  5,600 new jobs have been created in the Industry since June 2014. The cost of motoring in general has decreased notwithstanding the fact that motor insurance costs have increased by 15.7% since June 2014.

Damien English, T.D., Minister of State at the Departments of Education and Skills & the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with Special Responsibility for Skills, Research and Innovation, who launched the review, said; "The Motor Industry plays a key role in providing employment across the country in both rural and urban areas. I am greatly encouraged by the growth in employment across the Industry in the last year and in particular I am delighted at the Motor Industry’s commitment to employing and training young people via the Apprenticeship system”.

The buoyancy in the market has seen the predictions for this year’s end of year totals increase to a projected 123,000 new car registrations for 2015. This would be a 27% growth on 2014. These projections will mean delivery of an additional €219million for the Exchequer, 3,400 additional jobs and moves 2016’s predicted new car sales to 145,000.

Economist and author of the report, Jim Power, said; "Given the upward momentum in the auto sector and the increasingly strong contribution it is making to Exchequer revenues, employment and regional economic activity, it is important that Budget 2016 should not make any changes that could adversely affect car sales.”

Mark Boggan, President of the SIMI, said; "This is the 3rd year of the dual registration plate which has been a real success, allowing the Industry to better structure its business year.  We now have sales occurring in the second half of the year at rates never seen before as consumers have embraced the opportunity to purchase their new car in July. July this year reached 93% of the January sales figure, compared to 82% last year, 67% in 2013 and 21% in 2012 the last year before the new system was introduced.”

The increase in sales activity is also being seen in the online market. DoneDeal have seen a 26million increase in visits to their Motoring Section for the first half of 2015, bringing their total visits to over 89million so far this year.

Cathal Cremen, Commercial Manager of DoneDeal’s Motor Section, said; "We’re proud to be Ireland’s biggest classified advertisements website and undoubtedly our motor section is a key part of DoneDeal’s success. Whether you want to buy privately or via the Motor Industry DoneDeal has you covered. June 2015 saw a total of 77,876 motor ads placed on DoneDeal, which was up almost 10% on June last year.  DoneDeal offers opportunities to both buyers and sellers with over 90 million visits to DoneDeal’s motor section alone in the first half of 2015. This is up 26 million on the same time last year so no matter what you’re selling there is someone out there to buy it!”