THE NUMBER of new cars licensed in July rose by almost 3 per cent on the corresponding period last year, according to new figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Some 16,175 new private cars were registered during the month, compared with 15,738 in July of last year, putting a halt to a downward trend seen in the market in recent months.
The upswing in sales during July has been attributed to the new VRT tax system introduced at the beginning of the month.
Under the scheme, car owners are offered reduced tax on vehicles with lower CO2 emissions, while taxes increased on those vehicles releasing high levels. Many consumers are thought to have held back on purchasing new vehicles until the regulations came into force.
In spite of the overall rise in car sales in July, the market has remained patchy for many dealers.
Ken Carey of Carroll and Kinsella Motors, a Toyota and Lexus dealer based in Blackrock, Co Dublin, said his company has recorded considerably fewer sales than it did in July of last year.
"The numbers might have risen overall in July, but in saying that, our numbers dropped by around one-third. We sold 44 new Toyotas in July of this year compared to 65 last July."
Mr Carey said he did not believe the new tax scheme had "helped" raise sales, as many people were confused about the regulations.
To date this year there has been a 15 per cent drop in the overall number of new cars registered in the State, with a total of 130,744 licensed to the end of July.
On the commercial front, the number of goods vehicles registered fell by 44.1 per cent to 2,377 in July, while the total number of vehicles licensed rose by 1.8 per cent to 30,245, compared to 29,721 last year.
