The Vehicle Leasing Association of Ireland has warned that only the 'black market' will be left to service the motor business in Ireland if the Government doesn't take proper action in the Emergency Budget.
In a submission directly to the Minister for Finance, the Association says over 4,456 jobs have already been lost in the motor trade and nine dealerships have already gone into receivership in 2009.
The Association now estimates that the new car market for 2009 will be 55,000 cars, and this is already reflected in the VRT Exchequer income for January of €32 million, compared to the €215 million in January 2008.
The submission also notes that the used import market is increasing, with 40 percent of all registrations so far this year coming from this sector.
The Association has outlined a number of key moves which it says must be taken if the situation is to be retrieved in any measure.
These include charging VRT on imports at the same reate that would have been applied had the car been first registered in Ireland when new.
It also calls for a temporary reduction in VAT on cars to 15 percent.
Any recalculation in VRT Bands must be done 4-5 months before New Year in order to allow the motor industry cope with pricing and vehicle orders.
Other items include showing the place of a vehicle's first registration on the number plate, the requirement that all imports should have metric odometers, increases in VAT on company cars, immediate NCT tests on all imports, and using Anglo Irish Bank, which is state owned, to provide credit lines to consumers and business.
According to John Wallace, President VLAI, all these proposals have been discussed directly with the Minister, but to date, nothing has been adopted.
