Toyota is the top selling new car brand/marque of 2011, according to figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry.
Toyota has finished top of the Irish new car sales league table in eight of the past 11 years. With sales of 11,646 passenger vehicles, Toyota accounted for a 13 per cent total market share, which was an increase of 9.2 per cent over 2010.
From the beginning of the year Toyota was clearly the brand to beat, with a dominant 17.4 per cent share of new vehicle sales (3,762 units ) last January alone.
Top five selling new car brands/ marques 2011
1 Toyota, 2 Volkswagen,
3 Ford, 4 Renault and
5 Nissan.
Focus is top model
The Ford Focus retained its title as Ireland’s top selling car in 2011. The Focus sold a total of 4,209 units during the year to top the sales chart, placing the nameplate 242 units ahead of its nearest competitor, the Volkswagen Golf.
Commenting on their achievement, David Shannon, managing director of Toyota Ireland, said:
“We’re very proud to have achieved the number one position in what was a very tough year in the Irish motoring market. Our dealer network was able to satisfy consumer demands with numerous low CO2 qualifying vehicles, a wider selection of diesel variants and as always very competitive pricing.
”We look forward to another strong year in 2012 with the continued success of the new Yaris and Auris Hybrid, as well as the 2012 Avensis. In addition we will be launching some exciting new offerings such as the Prius plug-in hybrid, Prius 7 seater, Yaris hybrid and a return to our sport car heritage with the GT-86.”
Eddie Murphy, managing director of Ford Ireland, commented: “We are thrilled the new Focus is again Ireland’s favourite car. With the new model arriving late in the first quarter, outside of the normally brisk sales period at the start of the year, there was a danger the model would be playing catch up, but thanks to the outstanding market reaction to the new model, that has not been the case.
“An important element in the success of new Focus is how the car is again setting the standard for technological development within the segment. No other comparable model offers such a broad range of cutting-edge technology.”
Vantastic performance again
Ford tops the LCV/van market with the Transit the top selling van again in 2011. Following Ford at the top is Volkswagen in second place, followed by Renault. Next came Toyota, followed by Nissan.
If you combine new cars and van sales, the top selling new vehicle brand of 2011 was Volkswagen.
