Initial end-of-year sales figures, seen by The Irish Times, indicate the new car market was down 18.5 per cent compared to 2007, writes Paddy Comyn
Figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show new car sales to the end of December were 151,607 units, 18.5 per cent down on 2007. Alan Nolan, director general of SIMI, says the figures were not a surprise.
"The end-of-year figures are pretty much as we predicted since the autumn. We must also remember that January 2008 was the strongest January on record, with 47,000 units sold, so we must expect this year to be much more modest."
Sales for the first two trading days of January showed 3,957 units were registered, compared to 14,867 units for the first three days of 2008 - meaning the passenger car market is down 73 per cent with one less day of trading, but still likely to be down 50-60 per cent compared to last year for initial sales.
"Measuring sales figures for January this year compared to last January's record month will be unrealistic.
Last year was a tough year and this is likely to be another tough year, but there are still some positives to be taken such as the drop in many new car prices and the significant value on the used car market," added Nolan.
Commentators predict 2009 will be a quiet year for the new car market, with few expecting unit sales of more than 100,000 units.
The last time the new car market was at this level was in 1995, when 86,900 units were sold. Sales of light commercial vehicle are also down sharply, with 302 units sold in the first two trading days compared to 2,496 in the initial days of 2008.