Sales of new cars are up 7.8 per cent over the first five months of the year, according to the latest industry figures.
Toyota remains the best-selling car brand in Ireland so far this year, with 12.7 per cent of the market. It's closely followed by Ford. Of the other mainstream brands, Opel remains outside the top five selling brands, with 6.6 per cent.
Total new car sales for the year up to May were 108,519, with the biggest rises coming from Japanese marques such as Toyota - up 24.4 per cent on last year - and the minnow player, Suzuki, up 60.5 per cent to 1.6 per cent of the overall market.
Fiat and Alfa Romeo recorded the most significant fall in sales. From a 4.3 per cent market share in the first five months of 2003, Fiat now has a 2.9 per cent share, down 29 per cent. Alfa sales are down 19.5 per cent on the same period last year. - Michael McAleer