Registration of new cars down 12%

NEW CAR registrations are down 12 per cent this year, a drop of 10,093 on the first seven months of last year. A total of 71,065 new cars have been registered this year, with July sales standing at 4,431, up 352 on the same month last year.

There was an abnormal spike in registrations on July 31st, however, with five times the daily average number of cars registered, according to figures from Motorcheck.ie.

This meant the monthly total went from a potential 11 per cent drop on last year to a 10 per cent increase. On Tuesday 856 of the 4,079 new cars were registered.

Motorcheck.ie's co-founder Shane Teskey said: "The abnormal spike in registrations at the end of last month could signal an increase in tactical registrations as part of the manufacturers' sales strategy."

Commonly referred to as “pre-registering” a car, a “tactical registration” is one where the manufacturer registers a new car to itself or a franchised dealer in order to boost its sales figures and market share. “When overall sales drop below a certain threshold, tactical registrations can make a significant impact on an individual brand’s market share,” said Teskey. “Pre-registered cars with little or no mileage may offer an attractive alternative to the consumer who lacks the confidence to purchase brand new. This can mean some great offers on ‘nearly new’ cars sitting on forecourts.”

The Irish motor sector is awaiting details in this year’s budget of plans by the Government to revamp the tax system for new cars.

In return for a likely increase in motor tax and potential changes to vehicle registration tax, the motor trade has been lobbying for the introduction of a new numberplate registration system to overcome the current seasonality in the market.

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry is predicting total sales of less than 80,000 new cars this year. According to Alan Nolan, its director general, up to 70 per cent of new cars are sold in the first four months of the year.

Of the new cars registered so far this year, 74 per cent were diesel, with 23 per cent petrol.