Irish car buyers buy big

Irish motorists are choosing larger engines according to Cartell.ie.

Irish motorists are choosing larger engines according to Cartell.ie.  The most popular engine size in 2012 was 1.6 litres, accounting for 28% of registrations.  In 2007 1.4 litres was the favourite capacity, taking 23% of all sales.  Despite the recession and talk of downsizing, engine sizes of 1.6- and 2.0 litres accounted for 37,000 units, or 47% of cars registered.  Hybrid and electric vehicles also increased in popularity with 764 registered, up 23% on 2011.

Changes to the vehicle tax system go some way to explaining the change in customer behaviour.  In 2008, taxation swapped from a system based on engine capacity to one based on CO2 emissions.  As a result buyers have opted for more diesel-powered cars, which tend to have a greater capacity for a given level of performance.  Last year 92% of the top five engine sizes were diesel models, compared with 31% in 2007.

Jeff Aherne, Director of Cartell.ie says: "These are interesting results: while the overall picture shows fewer people are buying newer cars, it's interesting that those that are entering the market are opting for a larger engine size. These larger diesel engines are more fuel efficient and produce less CO2 and are therefore cheaper to tax than the majority of petrol vehicles."

For up to date news check out CompleteCar.ie