Irish New-Car Sales Tumble 10.4% in March

Irish new-car sales continue their downward spiral, falling 10.4% in March to 11,695 units as the market underperforms industry expectations.

The result pushes first-quarter new-car deliveries down 13.8% to 39,511 units, according to the Society of the Irish Motor Industry data.

SIMI Director General Alan Nolan says the first quarter is a crucial period for the industry because it traditionally is a good indicator of how sales will perform for the rest of the year, with half of all new-car sales generally completed in the first three months of the year.

“Based on current figures, we're predicting a new-car market of 70,000 this year, slightly down on our original expectations,” Nolan says in a statement.

“Even this reduced estimate for the year hides a very tough marketplace in the sector. In reality, the natural market is actually significantly poorer, and the industry is having to drive sales with really strong offers to consumers.”

Nolan says the industry must sell cars that are ordered and in the pipeline based on original expectations, but a bad experience this year likely will lead to a much more conservative view of next year’s market.

“At the moment, though, all of this is good news for the consumer with the very strong offers available on new cars,” he says.

Volkswagen led Ireland’s March new-car market, despite an 18.3% decline compared with year-ago, to 1,311 units. Toyota placed second, up 11.9% to 1,175 and Nissan was third, down 38.4% to 1,163.

Opel edged up 4.2% to 964 units as it overtook Ford, down 23.3% to 936.

VW led the market for the first quarter, down 14.3% from prior-year to 4,837 units. Toyota was second, down 29.5% to 4,151, followed by Ford, off 23.97% to 3,825. Opel placed seventh, down 7.6% to 2,634.

The VW Golf was Ireland’s top-selling model, up 6.9% to 2,007 units, edging out Nissan’s Qashqai, down 14.6% to 1,941. The Ford Focus was third, down 34.3% to 1,496 units, ahead of the Ford Fiesta, up 10.6% to 1,336.