Official statistics released this week by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show the total new car registrations for the month of August are down 13.3 per cent (5,131 ) when compared with August 2018 (5,921 ).
New car registrations for the year to date are down 7.9 per cent on the same period last year - that is 9,431 fewer new cars sold in the past eight months.
The top five selling car brands for the year to date are: 1. Volkswagen; 2. Toyota; 3. Hyundai; 4. Ford; and 5. Skoda, and the top five car models for the year to date are: 1 Toyota Corolla; 2. Hyundai Tucson; 3. Nissan Qashqai; 4. Skoda Octavia; and 5. Volkswagen Tiguan.
Light and Heavy Commercials
New light commercial vehicle registrations are up 35.1 per cent (1,880 ) on August 2018 (1,392 ), but registrations for the year to date are down -2.2 per cent to 21,906.
Meanwhile, new heavy commercial vehicles decreased 20.7 per cent (157 ) last month in comparison to August 2018 (198 ), but for the year to date are up 3.1 per cent (2,207 ).
Imported used cars
Imported used cars for August saw an increase of 10.2 per cent (9,708 ) on the same month last year (8,812 ), and the year to date imports are up five per cent (72,211 ) ahead of 2018 (68,784 ).
Electric Cars
New electric vehicle registrations continue to grow month on month with 172 vehicles registered for the month of August - an increase of 4.2 per cent on August 2018 (165 ), while a total of 2,860 EV cars were registered so far this year.
