New car registrations for August were up 3.5 per cent (5,932 ) compared to last year (5,729 ), according to statistics released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry.
However, new car registrations year to date are down 3.8 per cent (119,937 ) on the same period last year (124,651 ).
Volkswagen is the top-selling brand year-to-date, with the Hyundai Tucson the top selling model, marginally ahead (17 units ) of the Nissan Qashqai.
New vans or light commercial vehicle (LCV ) registrations were marginally up 1.4 per cent (1,400 ) on August 2017 (1,380 ) and year to date are up 6.8 per cent (22,485 ).
Ford remains the market leader for LCVs, and the Transit Connect is the best selling model line, just ahead of another Ford range, the Transit Custom.
Meanwhile, new heavy commercial vehicles (HGVs ) have seen a small decrease of 1.5 per cent for the month of August, with 201 units when compared to the same month last year with 204 registered. However, they are up 2.3 per cent (2,146 ) year to date.
Imported used cars continue to show an increase - up 4.4 per cent for the month of August 2018 (8,814 ) when compared to August 2017 (8,445 ), while year-to-date at 0.7 per cent (68,784 ) remain well ahead of 2017 (62,151 ).
