Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
THE NUMBER OF new cars licensed in Ireland fell last year as more consumers registered vehicles imported from abroad, official Government figures have confirmed.
New statistics from the Department of Transport back up figures compiled by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry earlier this year, when it was suggested that more drivers are buying from the UK on the back of a strong Euro.
According to the Department’s latest bulletin of vehicle and driver statistics, 157,865 new vehicles were taxed in Ireland on 31 December 2018, a decrease of 3,975 on 2017.
However, 125,874 imported used vehicles were taxed in the Republic of Ireland in 2018, an increase of 7,856 (6.65%) on the figure for 2017.
The total number of taxed vehicles recorded on Irish roads at the end of last year was 2,717,722, an increase of 41,843 vehicles (1.56%) on the previous year.
The figure included 2,106,369 private cars – an increase of 40,257 (1.95%) compared with 2017 – as well as 355,273 goods vehicles, 75,196 agricultural tractors and 40,198 motorcycles.
In total, 36% of all taxed vehicles use petrol and 62% operate on diesel.
There were 32,083 electric and petrol vehicles taxed last year, an increase of 51.9% on 2017, and 4,825 vehicles using electric only, an increase of 65% on 2017.
Meanwhile, 2.9 million people had current driving licences on 31 December, 2018, 91.7% of which were full licences.
An additional 240,064 people held learner permits, a decrease of 6,084 on the 2017 figure.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Sort out the insurance monopoly before the country comes to a halt.
@Battaz: kk✔️
@Patrick Coffey: absolutely correct
@Battaz:and the VRT, may be more competetive here then
Irish motorists can buy cars from aboard but not car insurance….. And that folks is called a monopoly!
@Humphrey Harold Haddington: Whatever came of the raid on insurance companies for cartel like behaviour?
@Richard Sweeney:
Maybe they didn’t find any proof.
@Humphrey Harold Haddington: say you get your car insurance from say Portugal. and then you have a crash, do you expect the insurance company to fly over there inspection team to access the damage and determine if the car is worth saving? I’d imagine that would work out more expensive
@Roy Dowling:
A lot of the Irish insurance companies sub contract that out to free lance assessors now.
@Roy Dowling: Your like the DUP, you got a problem for ever solution.
@Roy Dowling: I’d imagine they’d open an office here
@Roy Dowling: I’d imagine they’d open an office here
@Roy Dowling: how about they just get a local to inspect the car. Is that to much to figure out
@Roy Dowling: no, use local inspectors
@Figo murphy: So why haven’t any opened an office her already?
@Humphrey Harold Haddington: I asked a simple question and you come back with deflection and insults sound like your are more like the DUP than me. You haven’t given any solution. you have no idea how an overseas insurance company can possibly deal with your claim correctly.
And who can blame them for doing so? Last year bought a 2012 Mini Cooper D with 60k miles and saved €3150 on similar spec here.
@Ciaran De Bhal:
Done the same thing two years ago, saved about €2,500
Most of the imports mentioned above are brought in by dealership’s
@Ciaran De Bhal: Brits are dumping their diesels here en mass because they know bans are coming.
Diesels will be banned from cities & large towns here too when their true health impact become evident.
@Chemical Brothers:
I’m sure you are right….
Sometime.
@Chemical Brothers: Can’t retroactively ban something, thats how you lose constituents.
@Cynical: Absolutely could ban. E.g. No diesels inside canals in Dublin without a transit permit or get fined. Already works with the 5 axel truck ban.
Extra deaths caused by VW diesel cheating scandal is estimated at 6,800 EXTRA deaths per year EU wide.
The way to lose constituents is from respiratory & immune diseases caused by diesel.
@Chemical Brothers: How are British diesels any dirtier than Irish diesels? They usually come off the same production line
@Chemical Brothers: old diesel yes. Euro 6 diesel is actually very clean ( in the real world ) however the cars are now a giant toxic waste storage dump and end of life issues will present in a few years time as the fleet of euro6 diesels ages. Electric cars are an even bigger end of life dump so there’s no win win here . Except maybe hydrogen
@Ollie Conroy: Suspect most of the bargain diesels coming in from UK are not EU6.
HEV about 8 times more expensive per km than a BEV.
BEV EOL won’t be a problem as the battery materials are valuable to recycle.
i would love to buy in ireland, even if there was 10% differential i would but when the average saving is 5k or so coupled with the extra mod cons that you get from a uk car, its very hard to refuse.
@Leeroy Browne: when you can buy a a car at top speck abroad and after paying the VRT on bringing it home still end up saving a few thousand on what would have been a bog standard model had you bought at home, it says it all really.
Well the Garages are now selling British imports on the forecourts and a main British car hire company is also dumping it exfleet on the Irish market ,making a laughing stock of the buy Irish campaign.
@DavidOReilly: is the Buy Irish campaign not for products that are produced in this country?? Anyway, Vehicle Registration Tax and poorly spec’d cars makes a laughing stock of Irish car sales.
@El Sparko: it’s not just the VRT to blame. Irish dealers are extremely greedy. Look at the way they price the cars, you’re told a price and then they add a half dozen extra charges like delivery, paint etc which add thousands to the list price. Imagine if a supermarket was to do that. Milk €2, at the checkout oh there’s a 50 cent delivery charge and another 50 cent unpacking and shelving charge.
@Brendan Deasy: or imagine if an airline did it. #ryanair
@Brendan Deasy: Pretty standard across all countries to pay extra for upgrades like metallic paint, leather seats and more advanced technology and luxury.
@Malachy Guilfoyle: in all countries this is standard. Ireland rip customers off
@Malachy Guilfoyle: you’re missing my point. It’s standard to pay for extras like leather seats etc which is logical but here you pay additional charges and get nothing extra. The list price should be the final price the customer pays and no funny business.
@Kelvin Collins: they got reprimanded for it and now you pay the advertised price. Car dealers have the politicians in their pockets so they continue to get away with ripping off the public.
Love to see it. Goes for dental, medical, or anything else that we’re being ripped off for in European Ireland
It’s not because of a “strong euro” it’s because the VAT and taxes are so astronomically high here that if you’re buying a new car it’s cheaper to literally go to the UK, bring it back and pay to have it registered here
They should abolish VAT and VRT for electric cars….At present just a €5000 reduction….
@iComment: Up to 10k: 5k SEAI Grant + 5k VRT Relief
You can assume the government will increase VRT on imports substantially to stop this ….
@John Bathe: yes like everything else. Shaft the put
Rip off will eventually bite….
Nothing good about it, the vrt revenue the Irish government is getting on imported cars is ridiculous, a couple of thousand to put Irish plates on a car to then automatically start to devalue, then get ripped of on road tax and paying a Spanish Nct company, not to mention the price of fuel, rip of republic
Used imports will cease after Brexit and the new car prices will rise as main dealers will have a monopoly. We will be the only right hand drive country in the EU..
@Tim McCormack29: Cyprus and Malta must have left the EU while nobody noticed
I’ve been in the motor trade for 25 yrs. I have never seen so many imports on forecourts.
At least 25%are crashed and repaired. I personally have see 2water damaged (flood victims) in the last 2weeks. As recently as 4pm today (Friday) I have seen a 171 land rover repaired on the cheap . Entire left hand side painted(badly) with a water leak into passenger foot well.
Why would someone sell a nice car cheap?
Answer…. Their not
They are sell crap.
As for the motor check… They only show up if its a fully comp claim. Most company cars are insured 3rd party .The company then self insure for their vehicle (they value the vehicle against repair). So any crashes don’t show up on the check.
Be careful people.
By an Irish car just to sure
So many bad cars out there it’s scary.
@philip mcnally: Plenty of unscrupulous Irish dealers too. Buying Irish doesn’t guarantee anything.
Carry out a proper full vehicle check before buying an import or an Irish car.
@philip mcnally:
Like you said, you are in the trade…….
@philip mcnally: hmmm and you’re in the motor trade.. so you think anyone buying in England is not getting them checked? Or like most using an Irish Garage to source for them
@philip mcnally: I could get better grammar up the north.
@philip mcnally: 25 years in motor trade, you’ve seen some stuff b4 imports got more prevalent then. 2004?
“Abroad” definition is “Foreign Country”. Shinners will just love that. No cars from the North then.
Saved 15k on an Audi. Ireland. Go and shite
Insurance for my 6.4 liter petrol in America is €2200 for the year. The Irish are getting slapped around by the insurance companies as usual. The government are a disgrace not to stick up for the people. Secondly. Wondering why I’m getting a 4.8 rating as perceived as toxic.
do i have to pay carbon tax for my for my dynamo front light on my 20 year old bmx cycle, waldo finnegan
have your say