The Opel Corsa
The Opel Corsa: a big seller in Ireland in June

Official statistics released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that the total new car registrations for the month of June in Ireland were down 10.4% (1,255) when compared to June 2017 (1,400).

Meanwhile, new car registrations in Ireland so far in 2018 are 4.5% (87,151) down on the same period last year (91,215).

The bestselling car in Ireland in June 2018 was the Opel Corsa.

The top five bestselling car brands in Ireland for the first six months of 2018 were 1. Volkswagen 2. Toyota 3. Hyundai 4. Ford and 5. Nissan.

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

New Light Commercial Vehicle registrations (LCV) were slightly up 2.06% (694) on June 2017 (680), and year to date are up 5.7% (16,633).

New Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HGV) have seen an increase of 110% for the month of June (185) compared to the same month last year (88) and are down 1.1% (1,571) year to date.

Electric vehicle sales for 2018 are up 41% – from 374 in 2017 to 529 in 2018.

Alan Nolan, SIMI Director General, said: “While June has seen a decline in new car registrations of 10.4%, registrations in this month are relatively small numbers as many consumers will have waited for a 182 registration number. The more relevant measure is the Year to Date figure which shows a decline of 4.5% compared to the same period in 2017. This is somewhat at odds with the growth in economic activity in the country but has to be seen in the context of the volume of used car imports which impact negatively on new car sales. Commercial vehicle registrations both light and heavy vehicles have seen some increase for the month of June, reflecting investment for businesses.

This week marks the start of the 182 sales period, and with plenty of competitive offers for consumers right across the various brands, there is something for everyone. As always our best advice to consumers is shop around to find the best deal from local dealers.”