Ford leads combined 142 car and van sales

Ford Transit Courier

Ford was the leading brand in the combined 142 July car and van market with 2,728 registrations, ahead of Volkswagen and Toyota with 2,710 and 2,081 respectively, writes Trish Whelan.

The figures by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that the car market is up 61 percent on the July 2013 total with 11,620 vehicles registered versus 18,776 this year.

Ford had two entries in the top five selling car models for the month with Fiesta (657 units) and Focus (789 units).

"This is the highest car sales figure for the month of July in any past year in Ireland so it is clear that the 'July plate' is starting to establish itself in the mind of the ordinary motorist," said Eddie Murphy, Chairman and Managing Director of Ford Ireland.

He added that that the car market up by 61 percent is a good indication that consumers have more confidence in the economy. "I am even more heartened to see light van sales up a whopping 95 percent as small businesses rely on these vehicles to get the job done," he said.

Ford was the Number One brand in the van market with 2544 LCVs registered, up from 1,310 for the same period last year. With 668 vans registered, Ford took pole position in the van market ahead of VW with 433 registrations.

The July market returned the highest monthly van sales figure for Ford since March 2008, with the Ford Transit again Ireland's top selling van nameplate with 377 units registered in July.