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| Alan Nolan, Jim Power and Cathal Cremen |
The Exchequer has also benefitted by over €629 million in taxes from car sales this year, and although motor insurance is higher, both petrol and diesel prices are lower than the same period in 2013.
These were some of the findings from the SIMI/DoneDeal second quarterly Motor Industry Review which took place yesterday.
The Review, compiled by economist Jim Power using data from SIMI and DoneDeal, covers all aspects of the Motor Industry including sales, job creation, fuel prices and vehicle safety.
Jim Power said "While consumer confidence took a hit in May, it is still increasing. This looks set to be the most positive year for the Irish economy since 2007 with the Motor Industry being a key driver in this, contributing 3.4 percent of the total tax revenues collected in the first six months of 2014."
Alan Nolan, Director General of SIMI said "this review shows that what the Motor Industry is doing at the moment is working. What we need now is a period of stability. We need the conditions to continue to improve at a sustainable rate. We need the Government to play its part and keep these conditions stable over the net 12-18 months to help the Industry recover, to create jobs and ensure that we continue a healthy contribution to the Exchequer."
The figures for the first half of 2014 showed that 31 percent of the new cars licensed were imports.
Statists from DoneDeal showed there was a 4 percent increase in the total of motor ads on the site compared with the first six months of 2013. The value of all motor goods advertising was 6 percent higher than in 2013, while the value of cars advertised was 4.4 percent more than the same period last year.
Cathal Cremen, Commercial Manager of DoneDeal's Motor section said "With over 63 million visits to our motor section already this year, DoneDeal is providing data that gives a true reflection of the rapidly growing online market for the country. 2014 has seen more than 430,000 ads placed in the motor section and more than €1.3 billion in sales value for cars sold this year through the site. 41 percent of the cars placed on DoneDeal are sold within two weeks and 73 percent are sold within 72 days."
The Review also revealed that the hatchback is the most popular car body type in 2014 (35%), that diesel is the most popular fuel type (73%), and the most popular colour is silver (21.5%).
The Review also sees positive figures in the light and heavy commercial vehicle sales. Light commercial vehicle sales are up 36 percent from the first half of 2013, while heavy commercial vehicle sales are up 45 percent.
As part of the Q2 Review, SIMI also undertook a survey of its members on issues within the Industry. SIMI members said that 69 percent of new car sales were directed from the internet. On safety they said that over 67 percent of cars presented for repair now were worse than pre-recession (2007), and that 88 percent of vehicles presented for repair have dangerous tyres while 42 percent have a dangerous suspension.
