January car sales were the second highest on record, beaten only by sales in 2000.
A total of 38,582 cars were sold up to Monday, up 18 per cent on the same period last year, according to figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).
The growth has been attributed to strong consumer confidence. According to Alan Nolan, deputy chief executive of the SIMI: "There's a strong level of business and consumer confidence out there at present and it seems to be driving the sales in cars.
"However, it's early days yet, and no one is predicting this sort of growth at the end of the year. A lot of this rise in sales could be due to the increasing tendency to buy new cars at the start of the year. The car market now suffers from a mountain of sales in the early months and a drought for the rest of the year.
This could be more of a signal of that continuing trend than any dramatic growth in sales." In terms of market share, Toyota remains on top with a 13.44 per cent market share, with sales up from 4,292 to 5,182 in a year-on-year comparison.
The overall rise in new car sales benefited most brands, particularly the larger, more established players. All the top five marques recorded sales growth. Others that did well include Peugeot with a 36 per cent increase and 2,184 car sales so far this year.
With a 5.66 per cent market share, it's clearly setting its sights on sixth place, currently occupied by Opel. While a breakdown of the figures in terms ofmodel sales is not available yet, it's expected to show that a significant percentage of this increase has been driven by the new 407.
One big surprise has been the success of Daewoo's rebranding. Now sold under the Chevrolet badge, it holds 1.8 per cent of the market with 693 sales to January 31st, compared with 397 and a 1.2 per cent share at the end of January 2004.
At the premium end of the market, the gap between BMW and Mercedes has now closed to just nine cars. Mercedes recorded sales of 1,298 last month.
However, some brands continue to slide, particularly Fiat, which recorded sales of 693 in January, compared with 1,221 for the same period last year. Despite a major advertising campaign and several promotions, the brand still seems to be slipping from the public's attention.
Other marques which have failed to gain any benefits from the market growth include Smart, which recorded just six sales in what is regarded as the busiest month of the year. At the upper end of the market Porsche year-on-year sales fell from eight to six units.
As for predictions for the end of the year, several in the industry are suggesting 10 per cent growth, with estimates putting the 2005 total at 165,000.
According to Eddie Murphy, chairman and managing director of Ford Ireland: "There's a palpable feel-good factor at play in the marketplace. We're now looking at total car sales of 165,000 for 2005."
