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THE LATEST OFFICIAL statistics released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that new car registrations were down by 21 per cent compared to the same month in 2016 – with a surge in used imports partially responsible.
In February 2016 a total of 21,573 new cars were registered. In February 2017 a total of 17,128 new cars were registered. Overall, this puts the total of new car registrations for the first two months of 2017 down by 8.46 per cent (56,110) compared to the same period last year (61,295).
Concerns are growing within the motor industry regarding the month on month drop in registrations.
Commenting on the figures Alan Nolan SIMI Director General said:
We have been anticipating lower numbers in February compared to 2016, with Brexit continuing to impact on used vehicle imports, with fewer working days this year and with less hire-drive cars because of a later Easter but these numbers are somewhat poorer than we had hoped.
The figures are also a bit misleading as traditionally on the last day of trading there is a rush by dealers and importers to hit sales targets, creating a surge in new car registrations.
On the last day of January of this year 5,063 new cars were registered and on the last day of February almost 4,000 new cars were registered. Now, we don’t know for sure how many of those cars registered on the last day of February were down to pre-registering but only on February 24th did registrations exceed 1,000 units – so registering nearly 4,000 cars on February 28th is quite a spike in the market.
However, this is good news for new car buyers – this is a great time to go shopping as dealers will want to sell these pre-registered cars to sustain the market. So there are deals to be had.
Toyota are the best selling manufacturer with 1,533 Corollas and 1,297 Yaris models registered this year. The Hyundai Tucson remains the best selling model with 2,456 of the SUVs registered this year.
One of the main reasons cited for the decrease in new car registrations is used car imports, mainly from the UK. According to SIMI Motorstats used imports are up by 64.12 per cent year on year – January and February 2017 saw 15,320 used cars imported into Ireland compared to just 9,823 units in the first two months 2016.
Furthermore, many the cars that are being imported are traditionally Ireland’s biggest sellers.
The top ten used imports are:
The industry projections for the year suggest a market close to 140,000 for 2017 compared to 147,000 last year, but as economist Jim Power stated previously: “predicting the new car market for this year is going to be far more difficult than usual”.
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Galaxy S3 for me, bigger screen, better apps and faster.
Bigger screen?! It looks like a bleedin ipad!
With you there.
I meant with you there Alan. S3 rocks
Yeah like a bag of rocks.
and it’s not faster
I was thinking about trading my old phone in to get this because of the few extra centimeters but then I thought what if my girlfriend is thinking the same about me?
Go wider she’d might prefer that….
Wow that’s inappropriate even for me.
Short arse!
I hope Apple paid Ye well for that ad
This love affair between thejournal and apple is getting embarrassing
It is manufactured using what amounts to be no less than slave labour.
Jesus christ here we go again. Your tv. Stereo etc And most of the electronics in your house are made by the same company
So that makes it alright then.
What did you use to comment on this article? Phone, computer, tablet…..where you think they are made?
Foxconn pays twice the minimum wage
Every stitch you wear and probably all your electronics are in the same boat. Its the way of the modern world and choices are limited.
you love the screen yet is made using a ratio previously unheard of IBM the smartphone industry. you hate the fact that apps aren’t optimised for the screen you love? cake and eating it anyone? Galaxy S3 is already technically superior and it’s been out for months already!
16:9? Are you for real? Apple were one of the last to have this.
Sony Xperia s for me!! crapple
apple
I’m feeling Ya,
I’m feeling Ya, Xperia s is sexy as HELL
Bring on the Galaxy Note 2. Cant wait till me 4S contract in over.
I don’t care if it’s faster, how have they still not updated the home screen? The only change to this since the original iPhone has been the ability to create folders, otherwise it has the same functionality as any old nokia. On any other platform I can set widgets to give me info at a glance, why can’t they manage that in iOS?
Wait it will have i-widgets “patented” for iphone6.
Meh. Widgets are a gimmick and a battery hog. Yeah some of them are handy but most aren’t. Rather have a better battery than widgets. Switched to the s3 last week and I miss the long lasting battery off my iPhone 4. I do like the s3 though :)
I have an s3 and love it, far superior than any iPhone,
but on an other note, does anyone know when LTE will be available in Ireland??
Auctioning of the spectrum begins next year, I’d give it at least 2014 before it’s rolled out nationwide. As usual we lag behind.
And a complete con as comreg are auctioning off 5ghz and instead of 20mhz which means basically 3g speeds
Don’t waste your money. I got one last week not impressed. The Samsung Galaxy 3 is alot better and faster.
The iPhone smokes Samsung in all benchmark tests. 9 times faster than lumia in JavaScript. All iOS devices including old ipad and 4s faster in all OpenGL tests than the best Android phone.
I didn’t think so, i have the iphone 4s, this to me was not much different. I got the Samsung G3 a couple of months back, i think it is alot better.
Mark. There are stats and anecdotes. I doubt if you saw the iPhone 5. Where is it available? But even if you did – that’s an anecdote.
Eoin: benchmarks aren’t the same as real world tests. It’s easy for a device to excel in a single task if it’s only able to run a single process at a time!
Eoin i don’t care about the stats, you doubt if i even saw the iphone5? Do i care about your doubts, No. im from London, in my opinion its just like all the other iphones. The Samsung Galaxy 3 is the better phone in my opinion…………..
Sony Xperia s for me!! crapple apple
Whats the xperia like Louise?
Xperia s is a beast it’s easily the best looking handset out there right now, have tried the s2 and 4s iphone but have yet to get my greedy paws on an s3
What about all its newer found faults?
http://bigginsblog.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/iphone-5-the-problems-have-started/
How is the 5 as a phone? I have the 4 (not 4s) version and it has been a disaster!!! Does the 5 function perfectly as a phone?
there is one thing u need to know not few. there are better phones out there.
In your opinion…
Apple fanboys in da house….
Fanboy? Fan of the iPhone? Yes. Have a Samsung washing machine, am I forgiven?
Sorry I don’t have that authority…..
I doubt you have any authority in anything Damien. Nice family pic, maybe you should grow up and stop calling people you don’t know fanboys because they prefer one product over another. You look older than the type that would post childish comments like that. Ah well…
@Gordon, When you take something said in jest seriously and react in that way it only makes you look silly.
Apologies if I got under your skin.
You didn’t get anywhere close to being under my skin Damien! I just find it a bit sad to see a grown man, father of two trolling “fanboys in da house”..! I’m silly..? Have a nice day.
@ gordon
yep, that was my opinion. I belive that’s the idea of posting comment.
I can say more, for me any iphone is not a smartphone, its a gadget. my phone is over a year old, but I find it way more usefull than any of the iphones. and it is my opinion, based on my needs.
Michael your statement came across as such, as a statement of fact, not an opinion. Just saying, I disagree.
One of us is ribbing the other for perceived unhealthy love of apple.
The other is bringing a persons wife & kids into the argument.
Who’s the troll again?
Don’t start crying like a little girl Damien and take my comment (made in jest) so seriously, it makes you look silly…!
Thanks.
damian for the win
Galaxy S3 vs. iPhone 5. No there is another winner there Samsung Galaxy Note 2.
1st October UK launch. More powerful than S3, jelly bean on board and killer 5.5 screen + stylus pen. Simply best android phone in the world. Some may only complain about size even bit bigger than s3. But watching movie ir browsin web on it is pure joy :-)
the screen is 1136 x 640 pixels. ergo non standard.
Ah apologies for my earlier comment so Mark, I thought you meant the screen size and aspect ratio, forgot about the resolution.
Nokia lumia for me.
Damn you auto correct!
Who cares . It’s a phone whoop dee doo
can’t imagine you can pop in and buy one. I’d say they’re all preordered. I read about concerns over supply issues but it didn’t say where so I don’t know if it’s affected Europe
As far as I can tell only 3 have been taking pre-orders. Other networks have only been taking expressions of interest..
the note does look pretty savage but I have reservations about how portable it is. the S3 is pretty massive on its own adding another inch to the screen brings us almost into tablet territory. In saying that it would be pretty decent as a media player but probably not so much a phones
I have note 1 which is same size as new note 2. Its actually very light not sure now but maybe just tiny bit heavier than iphone 4 or same. Size is not an issue at all fits no problem in standard shirt pocket and in slacks / jeans. It has a feature to reduce keyboard and move to each side so allows one hand typing too (with full size keyboard setting not really possible unless you have huge hands). Stylus pen allows you take quick notes and pen is very accurate and responsive – no way you can achieve that with iphone and finger. Finally phone that i can use for taking shopping list of my second half :) Screen is a beauty and youtube or movies or web looks just stunning. This is complete phone I dont use tablet much anymore. Having said that note 2 is all note 1 is and even much better its a proper beast. Definitely on my Christmas wish list.
The note will be phone that brings dungarees back in to fashion
my apologies I ment physical screen size. by making it taller and not wider they’ve created a non standard screen.
But it is a standard screen size 4″ diagonal and a 16:9 aspect ratio. Only thing different is the in cell technology so the glass is slightly thinner
Hoseph – he means it’s not a standard mobile phone screen size, yes it’s a standard tv and film broadcast format, but not a mobile phone format
I think the journal should hold one of their lovely vote things on ‘Samsung v iPhone’ and lets really get this fire going :) would be extremely entertaining lol
Recently had the chance to compare iPhone with Samsung. Samsung looked and felt brilliant but operating system was confusing. iPhone far more intuitive. With that said, I recently synced ios5 and it almost wiped everything. Love the iPhone, hate iTunes.
How much will it cost?
Your soul…
In reality will the new iphone be available in the likes of Vodafone, 02 etc. stores this Friday??
Very much doubt it. As far as I recall any apple launch it hardly ever and anywhere had enough items just to walk in and buy. When new iPad launched you could get it just for couple hours if survived long queue. Then they didnt have stock for like 2 weeks. Then particular models and colours did not stick like for another 2-3 months, only after that situation settled.
have your say