The Toyota Corolla continues to sell very well in Ireland
The Toyota Corolla continues to sell very well in Ireland

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has released official new vehicle registration statistics for October 2019. They show that the total new car registrations for October are up 29.3% (2,184) when compared with October 2018 (1,689). New car registrations year to date are down 7.0% (116,129) on the same period last year (124,884).

The five top selling car brands year to date are 1. Volkswagen, 2. Toyota, 3. Hyundai, 4. Ford and 5. Skoda.

The top five bestselling cars year to date are 1. Toyota Corolla, 2. Hyundai Tucson, 3. Nissan Qashqai, 4. Volkswagen Tiguan and 5. Skoda Octavia.

The bestselling car in October was the Toyota Corolla.

New electric vehicle registrations continue to grow month on month with a total of 3,222 EV cars registered so far this year compared to 1,211 last year.

Imported Used Cars for October saw an increase of 25.4% (11,460) on the same month last year (9,139) and year to date imports are up 8.65% (93,893) ahead of 2018 (86,417).

New Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations are up 8.09% (1,069) on October 2018 (989), however registrations year to date are down 1.3% (24,324). New Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HGV) registrations increased 4.65% (135) in comparison to October 2018 (129) and year to date are slightly up 1.06% (2,484)

Commenting on the new vehicle registrations figures Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General said:

“New car registrations for the month of October show an improvement on the same month last year, with much of this growth accounted for by an increase in the sale of Electric Vehicles. However, new car registrations year to date continue to disappoint, down 7% on 2018 and over 20% since 2016. The impact of Brexit and sterling weakness continues to drive used car imports which is impacting negatively on the new car market. Despite the uncertain trading environment facing our Industry, focus is quickly turning to next year and the 2020 registration plate, with some recovery in the new car market vital in reducing Ireland’s emissions from transport.”