THE SOCIETY of the Irish Motor Industry is calling for changes to the car registration system to remove the seasonality of the new car market amid warnings that sales are expected to fall next year.
Without the benefit of the scrappage scheme that boosted sales during the first six months of this year, 2012 is going to be very difficult for the motoring sector, according to the society’s director general, Alan Nolan.
So far this year, 88,744 new cars have been registered, up 2.6 per cent on last year.
However, new car sales during October stood at 1,569, down 52 per cent on the same month last year.
Presenting its pre-budget submission, society president Gerry Caffrey said: “Nearly 50 per cent of new cars are sold in the first quarter of the year, which puts huge pressure on resources, from staff to cash flow.
“For those working in the industry, it is impossible to know if they will still be employed at the end of the year.”
The society is seeking the addition of an extra character on the registration plate for all vehicles registered after July each year to create a second new car sales peak.
Its submission claims this could generate an extra €20 million tax revenue in VAT and vehicle registration tax (VRT) each year.
Alongside this, it proposes to allow a consumer or retailer to get a used vehicle’s registration plate changed to the county of residence of its new owner.
“Based on a charge of €250 for this redesignation, it could deliver an additional €20 million for the exchequer in year one alone,” the society claims.
Aside from these changes, the motor sector lobby group proposes that the current vehicle registration tax and motor tax regimes remain largely unchanged.
“The market is so fragile that the main issue is that the Government should not be tempted to find the extra tax income – that we’ve no doubt they need – by looking at the likes of VRT,” Mr Nolan said.
“Given just how bad the market is, it could make an enormous difference in employment and would also be counterproductive as you increase the tax take per individual car sold, but you reduce the overall number of cars sold, thereby reducing the total VRT and VAT income.”
New car sales figures released yesterday show that Toyota has been the best-selling brand so far this year, with sales of 11,784 new cars, representing 13 per cent of the market.
It is followed by Volkswagen with 12.5 per cent and Ford with 11.8 per cent.
