Ireland’s car import boom is being accelerated by the Euro’s rise against the Pound, writes Trish Whelan.
Irish car dealers and garages have upped their spending on vehicles imported from the UK by a fifth (20pc) during the first half of this year compared with the same time in 2017.
The analysis of 3,000 transactions made through foreign exchange specialist Fexco Corporate Payments, comes days after the Euro hit 89.5p against sterling - its highest level for almost eight months. The research also found the importing spree hasn’t been limited to Ireland’s motor trade.
Spending on UK imports by Irish car dealers, garages, and individual car buyers together rose by 14pc on last year and up 66pc on its pre-Brexit referendum level.
The data also shows a 49pc increase in the number of cross-border car purchases - made by both dealers and motorists - between the first half of 2016 and the first half of 2018.
The Fexco data mirrors official statistics compiled by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. In the first six months of 2018, it registered 49,971 used cars imported from the UK, a 12pc rise on the same period in 2017, and a huge 64pc increase on the pre-referendum level seen in the first half of 2016.
The SIMI data also suggests Ireland is on track to import 100,000 used cars from the UK for the first time ever this year. It predicts that used car imports will rise by 15pc in 2018, with new car registrations falling 8.6pc on their 2017 levels.
David Lamb, head of dealing at Fexco, explains: “On a purchase as large as a car, exchange rates can be a dealmaker or a dealbreaker. Two years on from the UK’s vote to leave the EU, thousands of Irish car buyers - both individuals and garages - are still capitalising on the weak Pound.
“The UK has a much greater supply of used cars than Ireland, so all things being equal, a British used car should cost less than a similar model on this side of the Irish Sea.
“Historically the cost, and red tape, of importing a UK-registered car into Ireland put off all but professional dealers or the most committed individual motorists. But sterling’s continued weakness has shifted that calculus, and is nudging ever more Irish car buyers to look to the UK for their next car.
“In 2015 the Euro-Pound exchange rate averaged 72.6p, while in the first six months of 2018 it averaged 87.9p, before surging past 89.5p last week. But with the UK widely expected to raise interest rates in August, sterling could strengthen in coming weeks.”
