The motor industry in Mayo is showing strong signs of growth with new car sales in the first quarter of 2014 up by 28.7 per cent.
The figures come from a report published by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI ) and classifieds website DoneDeal.
Compiled by economist Jim Power, the First Quarter Motor Industry Review for 2014 showed 1,018 new cars were sold in the county in the first three months of the year.
This is a sizeable increase on the 791 new cars sold in the same period in 2013.
Mr Power said the report shows the motor industry, which had suffered serious decline, is once again back in growth.
“Confidence within the industry is currently stronger than it has been for some time,” he said. “This is important for national and regional economic activity, employment, and Exchequer receipts.”
The review also highlighted several other areas for optimism in the sector. The price of petrol is 5.3 per cent lower than the first quarter in 2013, while the price of diesel is also down by 4.7 per cent in the same period.
Motor taxation costs remained the same in the Budget while the cost of buying a new car was down by 2.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2013.
However, there was an increase in insurance with premiums going up by 4.4 per cent since March 2013.
