As January comes to an end, we now have a clear picture of how the busiest month in the Irish motoring industry has ended. There was a total of 37,125 new cars registered in January 2018, which is an overall decrease of 4.82% compared to January 2017.
Whilst some brands have failed to reach the heights of last year, brands such as Peugeot, BMW, Citroen and MINI have recorded a positive increase in sales.
Top 10 Passenger Cars by Make 2018:
|
Rank |
Make |
2018 Units |
2017 Units |
% Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
TOYOTA |
4,393 |
4,472 |
−1.77% |
|
2 |
HYUNDAI |
3,933 |
4,582 |
−14.16% |
|
3 |
FORD |
3,740 |
4,416 |
−15.31% |
|
4 |
VOLKSWAGEN |
3,590 |
3,740 |
−4.01% |
|
5 |
NISSAN |
2,873 |
2,999 |
−4.20% |
|
6 |
SKODA |
2,317 |
2,285 |
1.40% |
|
7 |
RENAULT |
2,315 |
2,721 |
−14.92% |
|
8 |
KIA |
2,030 |
1,917 |
5.89% |
|
9 |
PEUGEOT |
1,517 |
887 |
71.03% |
|
10 |
MERCEDES-BENZ |
1,341 |
1,549 |
−13.43% |
The Hyundai Tucson leads the way as the most registered car, although units did decrease by 14% year on year. Popular models such as the Ford Focus, Fiesta and Volkswagen Golf have also seen slight declines in sales for 181. The new BMW 5 Series hits the ground running in the premium saloon segment. One of the biggest stories though comes from Peugeot who has come out as strong contenders in the SUV market with the Peugeot 3008 and the 5008 reaching record sales for the brand.
Top 10 Passenger Cars by Model 2018:
|
Rank |
Make |
Model |
2018 Units |
2017 Units |
% Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
HYUNDAI |
TUCSON |
1,624 |
1,890 |
−14.07% |
|
2 |
NISSAN |
QASHQAI |
1,418 |
1,347 |
5.27% |
|
3 |
FORD |
FOCUS |
1,229 |
1,541 |
−20.25% |
|
4 |
VOLKSWAGEN |
GOLF |
1,080 |
1,272 |
−15.09% |
|
5 |
FORD |
FIESTA |
1,074 |
1,419 |
−24.31% |
|
6 |
TOYOTA |
YARIS |
1,026 |
992 |
3.43% |
|
7 |
SKODA |
OCTAVIA |
962 |
1,104 |
−12.86% |
|
8 |
KIA |
SPORTAGE |
817 |
811 |
0.74% |
|
9 |
TOYOTA |
C-HR |
813 |
502 |
61.95% |
|
10 |
TOYOTA |
AURIS |
807 |
626 |
28.91% |
The SUV is becoming increasingly popular in Ireland, and it is now the most popular body type with 12,607 examples registered, a 14.54% increase from last year. The SUV trend has taken away from other segments such as hatchbacks, saloons and estates, which have all seen a decline in sales in January.
Diesel sales decreased by 17.15% in January, whilst petrol registrations increased by 12.84% and hybrid increased by a huge 73.05%. Electric car sales have struggled to really take off, but this may be more of a supply issue than anything else and we should expect to see a shift when new models like the Nissan Leaf arrive later in the year.
Passenger Cars by Engine Type:
|
Rank |
Engine Type |
2018 Units |
2017 Units |
% Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Diesel |
21,174 |
25,557 |
−17.15% |
|
2 |
Petrol |
13,414 |
11,888 |
12.84% |
|
3 |
Hybrid |
2,324 |
1,343 |
73.05% |
|
4 |
Electric |
104 |
168 |
−38.10% |