NEW CAR REGISTRATIONS in Ireland are down for the month of May by 8 per cent with 5,991 new cars registered compared with 6,449 in May last year. That’s according to the official figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).

The figures also show that overall, new cars registrations year to date are down 10 per cent (89,791) on the same period last year (99,704).

It was the same story for Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) which showed a decrease of 19 per cent compared to May last year. This year 1,461 LCVs were registered compared with 1,819 last year. Year to date, LCVs are down 14 per cent, 15,098 this year compared to 17,535 last year.

Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HGV) are also down this month by 15 per cent (259) compared to the same month last year (306) and are down 9 per cent year to date, 259 this year compared to 306 last year.

Commenting on the figures SIMI Director General, Alan Nolan said:

With the first 5 months of the year now behind us, the decline in registrations across all sectors has been a noticeable trend reflecting the unpredictable nature of the market at present. As we near the end of the 171 registration period, there will undoubtedly be incentives to purchase a new car before the end of June. Notwithstanding this the industry and consumers are turning their focus to the second registration plate, which since its introduction has seen the proportion of the full year market occurring in the second half of the year increasing significantly.

At the end of May, the five top selling car brands were:

1. Volkswagen
2. Toyota
3. Hyundai
4. Ford
5. Nissan

The five top car models year to date were:

1. Hyundai Tucson
2. Nissan Qashqai
3. Skoda Octavia
4. Volkswagen Golf
5. Ford Focus

The top selling car during the month of May was the Volkswagen Polo with 242 units registered.

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