Hyundai Tucson
The Hyundai Tucson was Ireland’s bestselling car in July

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has released the official 182 new vehicle registration figures for July. Car sales were down 2.75% (26,944) compared to July 2017 (27,707).

The top five selling car brands so far in 2018 are 1. Volkswagen, 2. Toyota 3. Hyundai 4. Ford and 5.Nissan.

The top  five car models so far in 2018 are 1. Hyundai Tucson, 2. Nissan Qashqai, 3. Volkswagen Golf, 4. Ford Focus, and 5. Skoda Octavia.

The bestselling car in Ireland in July 2018 was the Hyundai Tucson.

Light Commercial registrations are currently up 12.4% (4,433) compared to July last year (3,944), while Heavy Goods Vehicle registrations were also up 23.28% (376) in comparison to July 2017 (305).

The SIMI’s second Quarterly Motor Industry Review of 2018 highlights that while Ireland’s economic indicators continue to evolve in a positive manner, the depreciation in the value of sterling since the end of 2015 has made life more difficult for the Irish motor trade, with new car sales been displaced by used imports from the UK.

Used car imports have increased by 11.7% year to date, aided by the weakness in sterling. There have been monthly declines in new car registrations figures, reflecting the substantial impact of Brexit.

Looking ahead to the remainder of 2018 Jim Power, Economist and author of the SIMI Report said: “The economic fundamentals that underpin new car registrations look set to remain positive but continued strong growth in used imports will continue to undermine new car sales. For 2018, the used import market is projected to grow by around 12% to reach 104,660. New car registrations in 2018 are forecast at around 125,000, which would represent a decline of 4.8% on the 2017 outturn.”

Alan Nolan, Director General, SIMI commented: “The 182 sales period has been a good month with new car registrations only slightly down on the same period last year, while registrations in the commercial sector in particular are showing positive signs of growth, with businesses investing in the renewal of their fleets. Electric vehicle registrations have seen a marked increased despite currently only holding small percentage of the marketplace and will continue to grow over the coming years.”