Official statistics released today by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that total new car registrations for the month of May are up 4.7% (6,341) when compared with May 2018 (6,055).
New car registrations year to date are down 7.6% (79,343) on the same period last year (85,868).
The five bestselling car brands year to date are 1. Volkswagen, 2. Toyota, 3. Hyundai, 4. Ford and 5. Skoda.
The five bestselling cars so far in 2019 in Ireland are 1. Nissan Qashqai, 2. Hyundai Tucson, 3. Toyota Corolla, 4. Volkswagen Tiguan and 5. Skoda Octavia.
The top selling car in May was the Toyota Corolla.
New Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations are also up, 5.2% (1,726) on May 2018 (1,641), with registrations year to date down 8.4% (14,617). While New Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HGV) increased 31.3% (298) in comparison to May 2018 (227) and year to date are also up 7.7% (1,491)
Imported Used Cars for May increased 4.1% (9,346) on the same month last year (8,978) while year to date imports are 3% (45,062) ahead of 2018 (43,739).
New electric vehicle registrations continue to grow month on month with a total of 1,902 EV cars registered so far this year, surpassing the total number of EVs registered for 2018 (1,233).
Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General, said: “Registrations for the month of May, both cars and light commercial vehicles, showed an improvement on May of last year, although the increase in numerical terms was relatively small. However, sales overall year to date have been disappointing with both business and consumer Brexit related uncertainty contributing to dampened demand for new vehicles. As we move into June the Industry is now focused on preparations for the start of the July 192 registration period. This will see a variety of strong offers to consumers across all brands, and in this environment, consumers will have a wide choice of cars to choose from at a really competitive price.”