REAR VIEW Mirror: MAYDAY.. WE'RE GOING DOWN

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Aug 3, 2008 | by Brian Twomey

NEW car sales in Ireland were down 50 per cent in May. None of the top 15 manufacturers recorded an increase in sales during the month although much of the downturn can be attributable to the new VRT and tax changes which came in on July 1. Many car buyers stayed away in the hope that they might save money by buying after the changes to vehicle registration tax took effect.

Toyota remains the top-performing car manufacturer in the country although the May 2008 volume of 1,831 registrations was in stark contrast to May 2007 when the company registered 3,359 cars. Ford's sales were down 44 per cent on May 2007 as against 45.5 per cent for Toyota. In the year to the end of May Ford was down 3.9 per cent to Toyota's 20.2 per cent although Ford is still second behind Toyota with 14,593 registrations to 16,566. Volkswagen held on to third spot although their May figure of 1,025 cars was down more than 62 per cent on the figure for May 2007. Opel were fourth and Nissan fifth. The overall state of the market will become clearer when the figures for July are in with a boost expected after the VRT change on July 1.