May sales of new cars up 6% on last year

New car sales rose 6 per cent last month compared to May of last year. So far this year 64,031 new cars have been sold, an increase of 12,481 on 2013.

According to Alan Nolan, director general of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry: "We expected May to slow a little, in advance of the new '142 plate' in July.

“While the increase isn’t as large as previous months, demand has remained strong, attributable to a more affordable marketplace for motorists and better availability of retail finance options.”

Volkswagen remains the bestselling brand on the market, followed by Toyota and Ford.

The best-selling models so far this year are the VW Golf, Nissan Qashqai and Ford Focus.