Figures released by Motorcheck.ie show new car sales for January 2015 are up 25.4% on the same period in 2014.  The industry registered 28,750 new vehicle sales in January. That’s an increase of 5,818 units on 2014 figures.

Meanwhile used import registrations declined by almost 5% on January 2014 levels with just 4,624 used imports registered in Jan 2015.

The used car market in general however continues with a strong performance into 2015.  The full year 2014 was up almost 7% on the previous year (an increase of 60k used car transactions) and continues to be buoyant.  Over the last five years (2010-2014) the used car transactions are up 11% in the Irish market.

The increase in new car sales over the past 2-3 years is without doubt easing some of the pressure on used car stock. It’s early days buy it seems that this has may lead to a tailing off in used imports from the UK this year.

Commenting on the figures, Michael Rochford, Managing Director of Motorcheck.ie said "the industry bounced back in 2014 and it’s great to see the positive trends continuing into 2015. It is predicted that there will be between 105-115k new car registrations this year, and these are the kind of levels required to sustain a healthy motor trade. It is also good to see the increases in the used car market. The volume of transactions in this market actually dwarf the new car market and the increases here are a real sign of a return of consumer confidence and the availability of personal credit.”

Similarly commercial sales are up hugely on last year with over 5,703 new commercial vehicles registered in Jan 2015 an increase of approximately 57.4% on 2014.

    
New Car Registration Stats Highlights:
New Car Sales up 25.4% with 28,750 new cars registered in Jan
Top selling manufacturers: Toyota, followed by  Volkswagen, Ford, Hyundai and Nissan
Top selling models: Volkswagen Golf, followed by Ford Focus, Toyota Corolla, Ford Fiesta and Hyundai Ix35
Diesel is by far the top selling fuel type with 72% of the market
The new car fleet is "green” with 95% falling into the low emission category A or B status for CO2 emissions. (70% of vehicles registered are in Category A)
Favourite colours are Black, Sliver, Grey and White
Favourite body styles are Hatchback, Saloon and MPV
New Commercial Registration Stats Highlights:
New Commercial Sales up 57.4% with over 5,703 new commercial vehicles registered in Jan
Top selling manufacturers: Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota Renault, Citroen and Land Rover
Top selling models: Ford Transit, Volkswagen Caddy, Volkswagen Transporter, Ford Transit-Connect, Toyota Landcruiser and Citroen Berlingo.


Passenger Cars - Top 10 Makes 
   
Rank     Make                           2014        2015       Change
1            TOYOTA                    2,796        3,744       33.90%
2            VOLKSWAGEN       2,677         3,133       17.00%
3            FORD                        2,279         3,088       35.50%
4            HYUNDAI                 2,324         2,786       19.90%
5            NISSAN                    1,151         2,141        86.00%
6            SKODA                     1,635         1,784          9.10%
7            RENAULT                1,097         1,649        50.30%
8            OPEL                        1,381         1,543        11.70%
9            KIA                                990         1,229       24.10%
10         AUDI                             977         1,182        21.00%
   
Passenger Cars - Top 10 Models 
   
Rank      Model                                      2014       2015     Change
1             VOLKSWAGEN GOLF         1,170      1,488     27.20%
2             FORD FOCUS                         861       1,222     41.90%
3            TOYOTA COROLLA                873          995     14.00%
4            FORD FIESTA                          747          892      19.40%
5            HYUNDAI IX35                        773          831        7.50%
6            SKODA OCTAVIA                   711          823       15.80%
7            NISSAN QASHQAI                  516         785       52.10%
8            TOYOTA YARIS                       570         782       37.20%
9            TOYOTA AURIS                      559          716       28.10%
10          KIA SPORTAGE                      547          651       19.00%