Figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that new car sales are up 5.2 per cent from January to the end of September compared to the same period in 2006.
Up to the end of September this year, 181,097 vehicles have been sold, compared to 172,088 up to the end of September 2006. It is expected that this figure will reach 190,000 by the end of the year.
Toyota continues to heavily dominate sales in the state, with 27,172 new passenger vehicles sold up until the end of September, which equates to a 15 per cent market share. This is 3.62 per cent ahead of nearest rivals Ford, which has sold 20,613 new vehicles and has 11.38 per cent of the market, followed closely by Volkswagen, which has sold 20,523 units and has 11.33 per cent of the market.
The best-selling models this year are the Ford Focus, with 9,923 units, followed by the Toyota Corolla, with 7,839 units, with another Toyota, the Avensis, just 13 units behind on 7,826 units. Volkswagen's Golf is in fourth place with 7,589 units and the Volkswagen Passat occupies fifth spot with 6,946 units.
Sales of SUVs have risen dramatically this year compared to last, but the majority of this growth can be accounted for by lower-emission examples of the genre. However, David Harpur, managing director of Land Rover Ireland, says that in recent weeks demand for SUVs has slowed, as consumers wait to see what will happen in the upcoming budget.
In this year's budget, it is expected that VRT will be amended to take into account some element of CO2 emissions and this could see the top rate of VRT for the highest emissions vehicles increase to 35 per cent, which, according to Harpur, could discourage owners out of some of these type of vehicles. "The lower end of the SUV [ market] is the most likely to be affected if there is a change that adds CO2 emissions to the existing engine-capacity taxations. The guy who has €100,000-plus to spend on such a vehicle might not be as affected by extra taxation."
There is a note of caution, however, when examining the monthly sales figures, which show that sales for the month of September are down compared to the same month in 2006, by a total of 7.6 per cent. These are the first indications of potential consumer caution.
There were a total of 5,706 new cars sold in September and this is 470 less than September last year.
The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) last month stated that a slowdown in the number of new houses being built in the State has been blamed for the latest downward revision in economic-growth forecasts for 2008. Any slowdown in new car sales would also be seen as an indicator of consumer uncertainty about the economy.