SIMI Calls on Government to Address the Issue of Older UK Imports!

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) today release their official new vehicle registration statistics, which show that the total new 192 car registrations for the month of July are down 8.4% (24,685) when compared with July 2018 (26,958). New car registrations year to date are down 8% (105,441) on the same period last year (114,082).

New Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations are up 8.4% (4,730) on July 2018 (4,363), however registrations year to date are down -4.5% (20,056). While New Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HGV) decreased 33.3% (250) in comparison to July 2018 (375) and year to date are up 5.5% (2,050)

Imported Used Cars for July saw an increase of 16.0% (9,384) on the same month last year (8,093) and year to date imports are up 4.2% (62,505) ahead of 2018 (59,972).

New electric vehicle registrations continue to grow month on month with a total of 2,689 EV cars registered so far this year.

Commenting on the registrations figures Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General said:
“The 192-registration period is generally a period of upturn for new vehicle sales however July has replicated the first 6 months of the year and proved a disappointing month for new cars, down over 8% on last year. There continues to be a surge in used car imports, the majority of which are coming from the UK. While Brexit is clearly a factor in this increase, Ireland’s taxation system overburdens new cars, causing motorists either to hang on to their older smokier cars or look to the UK for an older import. Over the last 3 years we have imported 150,000 cars that do not meet the latest EU emission standards, which in effect means Ireland has become the dumping ground for older cars the UK doesn’t want. This is not only bad news for Irish retailers and their employees, but also bad news for Ireland’s environment. 
Budget 2020 represents a real opportunity for Government to redress the balance, by implementing taxation changes that encourage the sale of new cars and to focus any taxation increases on older used imports. The Irish Motor Industry is committed to playing its part in reducing emissions and the renewal of our national fleet with new and newer cars is key to achieving this. We cannot allow Ireland to continue as the UK’s dumping ground for older more environmentally damaging cars, which only improves their environmental performance at the expense of Ireland’s”.

192 July New Vehicle Stats

• New car sales total year to date (2019) 105,441 v (2018) 114,082 -8%
• New Car sales total July (2019) 24,685 v (2018) 26,958 -8.4%
• Light Commercial Vehicles sales year to date (2019) 20,056 v (2018) 21,006 -4.5%
• Light Commercial Vehicles sales total July (2019) 4,730 v (2018) 4,363 +8.4%
• Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales year to date (2019) 2,050 v (2018) 1,943 +5.5%
• Heavy Goods Vehicle total sales July (2019) 250 v (2018) 375 -33.3%
• Used Car Imports total year to date (2019) 62,505 v (2018) 59,972 +4.2%
• Used Car Imports total July (2019) 9,384 v (2018) 8,093 +16.0%
• New Electric Vehicles sales total year to date (2019) 2,689 v (2018) 912 +194.85%
• New Electric Vehicles sales total July (2019) 735 v (2018) 383 +91.91%
• 5 Top Selling Car Brands year to date are: 1. Volkswagen 2. Toyota 3. Hyundai 4.Ford 5.Skoda
• 5 Top car model’s year to date 1. Toyota Corolla 2. Hyundai Tucson 3. Nissan Qashqai 4. Skoda Octavia 5.Volkswagen Tiguan
• Top Selling Car July 2019: Toyota Corolla
• Table below shows new car registrations by county year to date (January-July 2019)

For further information: 
Teresa Noone, SIMI, Tel: 01 676 1690 / 087 792 8844  Email tnoone@simi.ie