Vehicle history expert CARTELL.IE has reported that the numbers of used vehicles imported into Ireland this year are up 22% on last year.

In the month of May imports surged by 51.23% compared to the same month last year. Likewise in April imports were up by 39% compared with April 2015.

Imports were marginally down (-4.74%) in January compared to the same month last year but were up in February (+7.8%) and have climbed since then.

In the wake of Brexit Cartell.ie also reports on the impact of the value of Sterling on imports into Ireland and concludes that the value of Sterling does directly impact the age of the vehicle imported into Ireland but does not significantly impact the volume of vehicles imported.

Cartell.ie looked at the age of used vehicles imported into Ireland. The average age of a vehicle imported into Ireland in 2016 is 5.19 years which is lower than the average age in 2015 (5.26 years). Cartell.ie considered the average age of imports between 2002 and 2016 and found a correlation between the price of Sterling and the average age of a vehicle imported.

For instance, when Sterling dropped to an average value of €1.12 in 2009 (from €1.25 the previous year) the average age of a vehicle also dropped from 5.88 years to 4.9 years. Conversely in 2015 when the average price rose €0.13 from €1.24 to €1.37 the average age of a vehicle imported also rose (from 4.91 years to 5.26 years). In fact, the value of Sterling directly impacts on the average age of a vehicle imported