Good 172 start but sales still down

Car sales in Ireland were 10pc down for the first half-year of 2017, according to figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, writes Brian Byrne.

But a strong 172 performance in July cut that overall decrease to 9.36pc, with an outturn for the seven months of 118,925 units registered.

The forecast for the full year is 132,000 units.

The motor trade's representative body blamed uncertainty over Brexit as one factor in the drop, as well as increased housing, home rental, and health insurance costs eating at disposable income.

SIMI's review in association with Done Deal also noted that insurance costs for May 2017 were down 8.4pc compared to the same month in 2016, but still 43.9pc higher than in May 2014.