SIMI: Positive outlook for motor industry

Cathal Cremin, Alan Nolan and Jim Power

In their Third Quarter Motor Industry Review for 2014, The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), in association with DoneDeal, is predicting over 95,000 new car sales for 2014 which is 15 percent ahead of the Industry's expectations 12 months ago, and say new car sales could potentially get close to 120,000 in 2015.

The Review was compiled by economist Jim Power using data from Revenue, CSO, NVDF and RSA as well as SIMI and DoneDeal for the first three quarters of 2014 covering sales, job creation, fuel prices and vehicle safety.

This increase has seen the Exchequer collect €902 million in VRT and VAT from new and used car sales during the first nine months of the year which is 27.9 percent higher than the corresponding period in 2013.

The report showed employment in the Motor Industry has increased by 4,200 with further new jobs forecast in 2015.

It appears we're paying less for petrol and diesel at the pumps with petrol down 3.9 percent and diesel down 4.6 percent. The Report also showed a 2.8 percent decrease in the cost of a new car. But motor insurance has risen by 6.7 percent.

Alan Nolan, Director General of SIMI says "The better business environment in the Sector this year has resulted directly from the improved consumer confidence." He's hopeful the market will continue to grow in response to the more positive outlook for consumers in the wake of the Budget.

The '142' registration plate from 1 July contributed in a mid-year boost in sales, with sales for the second half of this year already representing over 30 percent of new car sales in 2014 compared to 17 percent for the second half of 2012, the last year under the single plate system.

Jim Power says the evidence available at the moment suggests that the market could grow by close to 120,000 in 2015.

DoneDeal's statistics show in September 2014 there were 74,461 classified ads for the motor trade on the site, an increase of 12.4 percent from September 2013.

Cathal Cremen, Commercial Manager of DoneDeal's Motor Section says they are confident of seeing continued growth into 2015 as more and more consumers look to replace and upgrade their cars.