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THE NUMBER OF new cars sold in May was over 20 per cent lower than the equivalent month in 2012, new industry figures show.
Data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) suggests that 5,963 new vehicles were sold in May – down by 22.5 per cent on the 7,697 that had been sold in the same month last year.
The figures mean car sales in every month in 2013 have been lower than the counterpart month in 2012.
Car dealers have reported sales of 51,574 new vehicles so far this year, down from 60,297 in the first five months of 2012.
That number represents a decline of nearly 14.5 per cent.
Toyota was the highest-selling brand in May, selling 778 units, ahead of Volkswagen on 738 and Ford on 619. Nissan’s Qashqai was the highest-selling model, however, with 220 sales ahead of the Volkswagen Golf at 201.
SIMI director general Alan Nolan said it was clear that there had been “even less spending in the domestic economy this year than in previous years, which were not good to begin with.”
Nolan said the industry was now waiting in hope that the introduction of the new ’132′ registration plate next month could entice some people to buy cars at a time of the year when they may otherwise have waited until the New Year.
“There are now real benefits for consumers buying at this time of year, and the industry is gearing up for some extra interest and activity in July,” Nolan said.
SIMI had been among the bodies calling for the introduction of registration plates that changed every six months, instead of every year, hoping that it would help to distribute sales more evenly throughout the year.
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I bought mine in the north saved over three grand after paying vrt, Its a rip off here. Most people Are buying second hand cars much better value.
Better spec than down here too.
all the “extras” just come standard in the north.good move.dont even get me started on the illegal theft of VRT.
Road tax is killing car sales Here,
09 Nissan micra Annual Road Tax €570.
BMW X5 Annual Road Tax € 710 Its crazy stuff just put the road tax on the fuel.
As for NCT it should commence from the date the car is tested not this stupid system of the reg date.
@ mac Dara your right …I drive VWs for years and when we go over Scotland we always stop by a few garages ( just to annoy ourselves !) And the difference in prices is staggering!! . The same golf I bought here in Ireland costs me nearly €25,000 the very same car in Ayrshire £12,000 stg!! We always walk away cringing with embarrassment….
The fact we pay the amount of VRT we do is a joke multiple taxes on the same good, changing the reg has had no impact on sales we need to scrap vrt and have a universal reg plate for the whole country no year or location we need to focus on what we are buying not its age and place of registration!
#Mac
If you notice the number plates on a lot of the cars being transported throughout the country on the car carriers have northern reg’s.
The garages are bringing them down themselves and then adding their own mark up.
People buying UK car because you can get a seconds hand care with better spec, Full service history and drove on road in repair ie less potholes. So all round a better deal and dealer will re- reg it for you. Cars are overpriced in Ireland.
Motor tax is already in fuel, they added it it to fuel years ago, then they broad back motor tax and kept rising it.. Plus 60% of fuel is already tax. Their gona skin you from every angle they can.
Also all the added extras that we are missing on our cars are because of VRT if there is an extra added to the car VRT is added to the value of that extra even if its a safety extra. Bullshit really.
Then they have the cheek to toll the roads…
Just as a matter of interest how much VRT would u have to pay on that 12k?
Thanks in advance
They already did that in the 80′s Genius !!!!! They took it off the “property tax” back then and put it on fuel… …. 68% of the cost of fuel is government tax already… We paying too much as it is
Good man mac !!
Bob go to the revenue website and it has every car there, go by the year etc and it work it out for you.
Bob , did ye ever here of the revenue , as well as been a pack of xxxxxxxs, they have a very good VRT calculator , use google , it’s deadly , ye should find it …………..
I’m in Saudi at the moment and its €0.09c for a litre of petrol!!
Totally mental to fill a car to the brim for €6.
A small bottle of water is a euro.
Back to €1.60 tomorrow though :(
I just buy my cars in the north and don’t pay the VRT as it is an illegal tax charged by our government. It is unlawfully enforced by the customs and if they seize your car due to non payment they are infringing on your constitutional rights, read more about it here,
http://www.irishdrivers.org/
Serves the car industry right for lobbying for the new 131 plates in the first place. What a waste of time.
What a load of crap… The car prices are simply a rip off in Ireland… Time to reduce to English prices…
Exactly. Amazing how they got the government to change the whole registration system to accommodate these “lobbyists” like how was that in the interest of the Irish people? There should be an enquiry into this
@drogcol:
@tom the same people who pay for everything else
Oh… excuse me, you must be very well paid to afford that luxury unlike the rest of us who are crippled by the state of affairs in this country?
My well serviced 10 year olds wil dol nicely thank you.
And a car insurance policy that includes road side assistance.
Who’d really pay 20-30k for a new car these days?
A fool?
Even the parts for the premium brands are all made in China these days.
And Sher isn’t half of the purchase price depreciation?
These new cars are grossly overvalued.
Overvalued to the point where the only people who will finance the cars are the manufacturers themselves.
“Nobody is buying our rubbish cars because they are too dear and they are made in sweat shops”
“And nobody will risk supplying finance on them because no one wants to pay them”
“I have a good idea, let’s supply the finance for our own rubbish cars”
“Biblical”
There’s plenty of private sale 2nd hands out there and there’s plenty more in England (but watch out for the rust on the older ones).
Rust? Maybe if you’re looking at something 20 years old.
Of course the figures look bad. The idea was to spread sales across the year. The end of the year will tell the true story. Personally I wouldn’t go for the ’2′ reg, it still looks like a year old car at xmas.
UK use heavy salt compounds to grit their roads in the winter, this causes any exposed metal pieces under the car to rust. I bought a car in NI and had to replace a lot if parts and bolts that were rusted because of the salt.
Buy from Southern England, they have warmer winters and use less salt on the roads.
Totally agree, absolutely no benefit In New licence plate system, if anything h feel u only gave a new car for 6 months assuming u buy in January and July, crazy decision
There should be an enquiry into all the enquiries there are.
@tom the only reason other enquiries lasted so long and cost so much was because of all the stalling and legal challenges coming from the very same people who set them up, politicians! Now your answer is not to have any more enquiries because they will cost too much, who do you think will benefit most from this? Not you or me that’s for sure. Politicians have conned the people into never wanting another enquiry even if it is required, thus giving them free reign.
Well, lets have an Enquiry in to that as well.
what a load of rubbish.very few people can afford a new car end of.the reg plate idea was stupid to begin with.anyone who is lucky enough to afford a new car will buy it at the start of the year like they have always done.
I would add that even if you have the money, there is no value in a brand new car.
Just buy a 2-year old or something similar – a car that has taken the fall off the cliff in value that occurs when it was driven off the forecourt.
but i love that feeling of paying 40,000e on a car & driving it out of the garage so now its only worth 30,000 lol
Personally if I had the money to buy a new car the reg plate would have zero bearing on when I buy a car. The fact is cars are too expensive here – road tax is totally unreasonable also. That may have more influence on car sales IMO. Also it’s a recessionary time & the govt are doing all they can to take as much money from ordinary people who perhaps may have purchased. Shame – I’d love a new Audi A5 too!
I know of a 08 immaculate blue half leather A5 Aline for sale. Owned by one retiree with 30k miles.
@simon how much?
Are you genuinely enquiring Des?
@simon honestly probably not. Am in market for new (2nd hand) car. Yours probably too expensive. Give me a price range and I will let you know
It’s a sign of a really desperate market if car dealers feel they must base their marketing campaigns on superstition surrounding the number 13.
It’s Darby O’Gill stuff.
So the 131 didn’t light up the car sales so now the next hope is 132. Think there in for a disappointment.
Its the auto sales sector’s version of Father Ted’s “Is there anything to be said for another mass”
They can all go and eat Sheapards pie. Government and motor industry are to blame. The cost is too high to run a decent car. €310 to tax a 1124cc car??? Mad, in UK £ 160. Fuel, the oil co’s are ripping us off with cartels, gov dont mind, they get the duty and vat on top of duty, double taxation. greed and madness, thats all it is, it’ll be their own downfall.
I worked in the motor industry for 20 odd years. The price of cars here is due to the VRT. Its an ‘ad valorum’ tax which means it is added AFTER the usual VAT, etc. So in essence we are paying multiples of tax on a new car.
Many manufacturers ship the cars here at less than the UK price. The reason the specs are different is that VRT applies to the full value of the car. So they reduce the spec to keep prices down as much as possible.
If you want a scapegoat on the price of cars its to the TD’s you should be looking.
Sure the VRT is a percentage of the OMSP(open market selling price) witch includes VRT
nonsense!!
Exactly Mohomad!! thats the real joke, VRT is calculated from a figure pulled out of the sky which already includes customs tax, import Duties, Transport, VAT and VRT its a tax on a tax on a tax, and it even a tax on its F*ckin self….
Its time we all drove Uk reg cars and overwhelm the Bastar*s in Customs.
There’s no such thing as the “Irish Motor Industry” – last time I looked we don’t have any car factories in Ireland. It’s just the Irish motor retail sector with delusions of grandeur!
Why so many red thumbs on what is a fairly straightforward factual posting!?!?!? I didnt create the VRT system here!
#confused
I agree with you hairy lemon.+1 on your comment. Shows how many people actualy read the whole comment.
I green thumbed also. Your mistake is you started by saying you worked in the motor industry at which point the trigger happy red thumb brigade began to froth violently.
Further indicator the economy is still in sh*t. Where are the FG spin doctors now to explain this.
Lets see at years end.
See what Vincent?
Doesn’t matter, there is no money floating about to upgrade your car, the only cars being bought are by the rental and lease car companies.
Ah sure may as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb, let’s bring in a 133 Reg for December only! Car sales are down because finance companies are lending less, and a lot more people have a blotted credit record, simples.
Ive an equally insane idea. Ignore the real reason why hardly anyone has money to buy an new car (a price much more than an EU average) and forget about the bullshit excuse of the number 13/131 and lets just put a smiley face in place of the year on the reg plate.
Did anybody ever have the money in the first place? The boom in car sales in the Celtic Tiger years was entirely reliant on cheap credit and scrappage deals. Take those out of the equation and bang goes the industry.
Come oooonnnn €99.99 Range Rovers.
I’ll have 5 please.
If you want to spark up the car sales get the government to lower the tax full stop and not a silly reg number . Rip off ireland again !! Have it like england motor tax .
Industry??
Been trying to trade in my last car for months, but some of the deals I was offered were so insulting that I stopped trying, then out of the blue I managed to sell privately. I was so annoyed that I then decided to try my luck in the UK, and within a couple of weeks I’d picked up exactly what I was looking for. Best thing I ever did. Saved myself at least €2500 too.
Parasite industry ?
Pop down to the roads around Stephens green, Kildare street on any weekday and you’ll find loads of 131 reg cars. Crisis? What crisis?
Hire cars parked at Stephens Green perhaps ? 3 euro per hour for parking.
Otherthan the garage employees wages surely all the money flows over to Munich, Stuttgart, Paris etc. What exactly does the motor industry do that other industries don’t, to warrant the special treatment the get from the gov?
Looks like at least 51,000 people haven’t felt the recession. Motor tax should be paid at petrol pumps as well
I understand that VRT is against EU regulations so why,if we are continually told we must accept taxes because of the ” EU” is this tax still being implemented?
A reg plate should have no bearing on how old a car is.
In the states when a car is sold to a new owner it gets a new plate. The seller can keep the old plate and transfer to his new car.
3rd last paragraph that chap Nolan says the new 132 plates next year. Is that a typo or is the 132 plate not next month?
Stupid, greedy bastards increased vrt and motor tax, as if they weren’t already an extortionate rip off. It tells you what a stupid shower of gits that are running the country (into the ground). Sales are down, we know what will improve sales, raise prices with more taxes on said items, that will definitely work, they should sell by the bucketload. Dumb
s o b’s.
They would never think that if they reduced fuel tax’s, people might drive more, giving them a feeling of , we can aford to go out in our car, they might do so more often, brining in even more tax on fuel.
I blame those cyclists, sure they don’t pay any road tax at all!
Surely splitting the year into two was always going to have a negative impact on May\June just as the old system had on nov\dec ???
141A will be next years plate then things will pick up.
People that buy their cars up north should also bring their sick children up when they get sick. Should they ever need a fire brigade let them ring the northern fire service. Their kids should also be sent to school up their. Since they won’t pay their taxes to support our services they should be last on the list. The guy on RTE for a long time promoted shopping up north. Derek Mooney did all his shopping up there and even used the RTE station to harp on about it. Since then he keeps getting more work in RTE. I am surprised anybody advertises on RTE as the money is flowing over the border.
Since when was VRT payable to the UK Gov???
I’m getting my new car in July to get the new plate. When it’s been sold on it may add minimal resale value but it all counts :)
Red thumbs because somebody is getting new car. Bitter bitter people on here lol
I’m getting one also. And I don’t care what anyone thinks. I saved damn hard to get it. I didn’t tell them to sink their money into houses so don’t tell me how I should or shouldn’t spend mine cause theyre jealous.
Exactly!!
Ill buy a new car when they get rid of the silly half year annotation !
I mean instead, not as well
Its the most stupid plate ever, all to do with 132 cars worth more than 131 cars at the end of the year for trade in value… Pffft! Shove your 131 tractor up your H**E Mr.Kenny…
What idiot thought that coming up with a new number plate would boost sales? Cars are too expensive with all the tax, vat, vrt and road tax… Not to mention service costs and parts!
I live in fermanagh and drive brand new vw cc and don’t pay car tax. Low emissions and 2.0 litre tdi
Go on rub it in why dont ya.
It’s too early to judge the impact of the 131/132 plates yet.
Figures for June should be well down too as it’s the last month of 131, but July should beat the previous year.
Surely they expected figures to be down for the first six months since the whole idea was the spread the years sales into two peaks.
Anyway it’s not all doom and gloom, I see on beepbeep.ie that Porsche sales are up 112% so far this year
It’s pathetic that the car industry is pinning it’s hopes on some sad people buying a new car because of a 132 number plate.
Jaysus Ted if a new number plate doesnt fix it then i dont know what will.
A reg plate with the numbers 132 wait while i drop everything and go out and buy ome said no one ever.
How can thy sell cars when there are no banks lending.
Do SIMI ever release figures of high end car sales?
Why buy a new car when there was never a better time to buy second hand,last year i picked up a 0-10 LK reg Ford Transit 2-2 litre diesel,priced at 10 and half thousand with just over 70 km on clock (just over 40,000 miles )in mint condition ,owner emigrating to Canada,thats nearly half price from new, for a 2 year old vehicle, a massive saving over new.
That’s great news – cleaner air, less noise, congestion and pollution of waterways.
Safer roads for us and our children to walk and cycle on..
Lower costs to our emergency and health services, healthier and more energetic people.
More connected communities and all-round better society.
It because its F**king cheaper, and we are being screwed. We need to save money somewhere.
have your say