by Brian Byrne. Passenger car sales for July were 12,409 a slight decrease of 0.27 percent on the same period last year (12,443). Year to date sales for 2005 at 149,472 remain up with an overall increase of 11.5 percent on January to July 2004 (134,017).
While welcoming the current buoyant state of the business, Cyril McHugh, Chief Executive of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry,reiterated that the Irish motorist is 'getting a raw deal' when compared with other European countries in motor taxation terms.
"If you examine the pre and post tax prices in Ireland for each different make and model, it is apparent that taxation adds on between 56 percent and 73 percent of the pre-tax price depending on the engine size of the car.
"This is a huge imposition on Irish motorists in addition to fuel taxation and annual road tax. Last month the EU came out strongly saying that vehicle registration taxes should be phased out over a period of ten years as they interfere with the free movement of goods in the Single market.
"The Government should now follow the recommendation of the EU Commission and not wait until they bring in a Directive forcing the Government to phase out VRT. We urge the Minister for Finance to start this process in the 2006 Budget."
Light commercial registrations at 2,601 are 5.6 percent up on July 2004 (2,463). Year to date light commercial registrations were 29,255, an increase of 26 percent on the same period last year (23,198). Heavy commercial registrations were 361, up nearly 18 percent on July 2004 (306). Year to date heavy commercial registrations were 3,652, an increase of 23.75 percent on 2004 (2,951).
