Statistics from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry confirm positive trends as reported recently here using data check from Motorcheck.ie, writes Trish Whelan.
The latest new car stats from SIMI show new car sales were down 20 percent in November, compared to last year. So far, for the year, sales of new cars are down by 6.5 percent.
The commercial vehicle market is up with vans up 34 percent in November, and up 2 percent for the year, and trucks up 123 percent in November, up 24 percent for the year.
Alan Nolan, SIMI’s Director General (pictured) says “While November sales are always very low (703 cars, 380 vans and 78 trucks, the year to date total gives us a better picture of where we are. As predicted, the fully year sales will finish somewhere around 74,500. On the other hand, activity in the commercial vehicle sector, often seen as an indicator of the overall health of the economy, has been a bit more positive with an increase in the sale of both vans and trucks which is a good sign that there is some growth in this area.”
He said there are now strong indications of improved levels of activity, with dealers across the country reporting an increase in showroom traffic compared to this time las tear with orders for 141 registrations up on last year. As a result, many in the Industry are more positive about the outlook for the first quarter of 2014.
