But the figures released today by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) also confirm a noticeable slowdown in registrations, with the July figure just 8pc up on July of last year.
The level of registrations year to date at 131,264 units is 19pc ahead of the same period last year.
Light commercial vehicle sales at 22,746 units year to date are 23pc ahead of last year, but the July registrations are just 15pc ahead of July 2015.
Both July figures show that the mid-year registration ‘bump’ is not as strong as it has been in the previous years since it was introduced in 2013.
One reason for the slowdown suggested by SIMI is that the extremely high growth rates of recent years ‘must naturally slow’.
The organisations says a sustainable annual market figure for Ireland is between 150,000-160,000 units per annum.
It calls on the Government to have a Budget strategy focused on building consumer confidence and improving the business environment.
The top five brands for the year to date are 1 Hyundai, 2 Toyota, 3 Ford, 4 Volkswagen, and 5 Nissan. This compares to the table at this time last year of 1 Volkswagen, 2 Toyota, 3 Ford, 4 Hyundai, and 5 Nissan.
