New Car Sales down 4.8 per cent in January
Official figures released today by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that new car sales in January 2018 decreased on last year. In January 2018, 37,125 new cars were registered compared to 39,003 units in January 2017. This represents a drop of 1,878 units or down 4.82 per cent on last year.
Top 10 Marques Passenger Cars Sales for January 2018
|
Rank |
Make |
2018 Units |
2017 Units |
% Change |
2018 % Share |
2017 % Share |
|
1 |
TOYOTA |
4393 |
4472 |
−1.77% |
11.83% |
11.47% |
|
2 |
HYUNDAI |
3933 |
4582 |
−14.16% |
10.59% |
11.75% |
|
3 |
FORD |
3740 |
4416 |
−15.31% |
10.07% |
11.32% |
|
4 |
VOLKSWAGEN |
3590 |
3740 |
−4.01% |
9.67% |
9.59% |
|
5 |
NISSAN |
2873 |
2999 |
−4.20% |
7.74% |
7.69% |
|
6 |
SKODA |
2317 |
2285 |
+1.40% |
6.24% |
5.86% |
|
7 |
RENAULT |
2315 |
2721 |
−14.92% |
6.24% |
6.98% |
|
8 |
KIA |
2030 |
1917 |
+5.89% |
5.47% |
4.92% |
|
9 |
PEUGEOT |
1517 |
887 |
+71.03% |
4.09% |
2.27% |
|
10 |
MERCEDES-BENZ |
1341 |
1549 |
−13.43% |
3.61% |
3.97% |
Car history company Motorsheck.ie claims that a large surge of about 4.500 units were registered yesterday, the last day of the month. As it often does, this gave the figures a boost as manufacturers looked to hit their targets.
Diesel continues to slide
Diesel continues to slide in new car sales with a 17.15 per cent decrease (4,383 less units) for the period, whilst petrol car sales increased by almost 12.84 per cent (1,526 more units).
The government incentive on benifit-in-kind (BIK) announced in the last budget did nothing to boost the sales of all-electric powered vehicles with sales in that sector actually decreasing by 38.1 per cent. Despite this, sales in the hybrid-electric sector surged by 981 units, an increase of 73.05 per cent on last year.
Toyota Ireland has kicked off 2018 as the best-selling car brand in Ireland thanks to significant demand for its highly marketed hybrid range. Closing out January with a 11.83 per cent market share, garnered through the sale of 4,393 passenger vehicles, 48 per cent of which were hybrid.
Looking more closely at Toyota’s best-selling hybrid models: the Yaris sold 1026 units, of which 49% were hybrid; the Auris sold 807 units, of which 71% were hybrid; the C-HR sold 813 units, of which 77% were hybrid; and the RAV4 sold 582 units of which 49% were hybrid.
Passenger Cars By Engine Type
|
Rank |
Engine Type |
2018 Units |
2017 Units |
% Change |
2018 % Share |
2017 % Share |
|
1 |
Diesel |
21174 |
25557 |
−17.15% |
57.03% |
65.53% |
|
2 |
Petrol |
13414 |
11888 |
+12.84% |
36.13% |
30.48% |
|
3 |
Petrol Electric |
2324 |
1343 |
+73.05% |
6.26% |
3.44% |
|
4 |
Electric |
104 |
168 |
−38.10% |
0.28% |
0.43% |
|
5 |
Petrol/Plug-In Electric Hybrid |
101 |
47 |
+114.89% |
0.27% |
0.12% |
|
6 |
Diesel/Plug-In Electric Hybrid |
8 |
0 |
– |
0.02% |
0.00% |
Despite registrations of the Hyundai Tucson being down by 266 (or -14.07%) on January last year, it retains the honour of being the top selling model in January 2018. It is followed by the Nissan Qashqai, the only model line in the top five to increase sales numbers on January 2017.
As the market leader for January, Toyota is the only marque with three models in the top 10 best registrations list – the Yaris in sixth, and big growth in sales for the C-HR in ninth and the the Auris also showing a sales increase in tenth.
The biggest success story in the January 2018 new car registrations is that of Peugeot. It recorded the strongest performance in the Irish new car market this January, as demand for the Peugeot range soared by a huge 71 per cent increase in passenger car registrations for the first month of the year. The success comes on the back of demand for the Peugeot 2008 SUV, the Peugeot 3008 SUV, crowned Irish Car of the Year 2018 and the newly launched 5008 7-seat SUV. The strong growth assured the Peugeot marque of a top ten place in the sales league.
Passenger Cars By Model
|
Rank |
Make |
Model |
2018 Units |
2017 Units |
% Change |
2018 % Share |
2017 % Share |
|
1 |
Hyundai |
Tucson |
1624 |
1890 |
−14.07% |
4.37% |
4.85% |
|
2 |
Nissan |
Qashqai |
1418 |
1347 |
+5.27% |
3.82% |
3.45% |
|
3 |
Ford |
Focus |
1229 |
1541 |
−20.25% |
3.31% |
3.95% |
|
4 |
VW |
Golf |
1080 |
1272 |
−15.09% |
2.91% |
3.26% |
|
5 |
Ford |
Fiesta |
1074 |
1,419 |
−24.31% |
2.89% |
3.64% |
|
6 |
Toyota |
Yaris |
1026 |
992 |
+3.43% |
2.76% |
2.54% |
|
7 |
Skoda |
Octavia |
962 |
1104 |
−12.86% |
2.59% |
2.83% |
|
8 |
KIA |
Sportage |
817 |
811 |
0.74% |
2.20% |
2.08% |
|
9 |
Toyota |
C-HR |
813 |
502 |
61.95% |
2.19% |
1.29% |
|
10 |
Toyota |
Auris |
807 |
626 |
28.91% |
2.17% |
1.61% |
Going Automatic
There is an interesting clear growth in automatic transmissions in new cars over manual versions.
Passenger Cars By Transmission
|
Rank |
Transmission |
2018 Units |
2017 Units |
% Change |
2018 % Share |
2017 % Share |
|
1 |
Manual |
28697 |
32458 |
−11.59% |
77.30% |
83.22% |
|
2 |
Automatic |
8413 |
6545 |
28.54% |
22.66% |
16.78% |
|
3 |
CTB / Linear Gear |
15 |
0 |
– |
0.04% |
0.00% |
Space utility gains more favour over traditional body types
There is a big drop in Saloon and hatchback sales with continuing growth in SUV and MPV sales.
|
Rank |
Body Type |
2018 Units |
2017 Units |
% Change |
2018 % Share |
2017 % Share |
|
1 |
Hatchback |
11872 |
13599 |
−12.70% |
31.98% |
34.87% |
|
2 |
MPV |
11739 |
10105 |
16.17% |
31.62% |
25.91% |
|
3 |
Saloon |
5880 |
8214 |
−28.41% |
15.84% |
21.06% |
|
4 |
SUV |
4574 |
3806 |
20.18% |
12.32% |
9.76% |
|
5 |
Estate |
2760 |
3068 |
−10.04% |
7.43% |
7.87% |
|
6 |
Sports Coupe |
213 |
161 |
32.30% |
0.57% |
0.41% |
|
7 |
Convertible |
45 |
46 |
−2.17% |
0.12% |
0.12% |
|
8 |
Van |
18 |
0 |
– |
0.05% |
0.00% |
|
9 |
Other |
15 |
0 |
– |
0.04% |
0.00% |
|
10 |
Hearse |
6 |
0 |
– |
0.02% |
0.00% |
Passenger Cars By Segment
|
Rank |
Segment |
2018 Units |
2017 Units |
% Change |
2018 % Share |
2017 % Share |
|
1 |
SUV Standard (H1) |
12607 |
11007 |
14.54% |
33.96% |
28.22% |
|
2 |
Small Standard (C1) |
8171 |
10465 |
−21.92% |
22.01% |
26.83% |
|
3 |
Mini Standard (B1) |
6250 |
7085 |
−11.79% |
16.84% |
18.17% |
|
4 |
Medium Standard (D1) |
2292 |
3022 |
−24.16% |
6.17% |
7.75% |
|
5 |
SUV Prestige (H2) |
1811 |
1554 |
16.54% |
4.88% |
3.98% |
|
6 |
Large Prestige (E2) |
1292 |
1068 |
20.97% |
3.48% |
2.74% |
|
7 |
MPV Compact (M1) |
1274 |
713 |
78.68% |
3.43% |
1.83% |
|
8 |
Micro Standard (A1) |
959 |
1410 |
−31.99% |
2.58% |
3.62% |
|
9 |
Medium Prestige (D2) |
870 |
928 |
− 6.25% |
2.34% |
2.38% |
|
10 |
Small Prestige (C2) |
589 |
771 |
−23.61% |
1.59% |
1.98% |
|
11 |
MPV Large (M2) |
377 |
297 |
26.94% |
1.02% |
0.76% |
|
12 |
Sports Standard (G1) |
220 |
320 |
−31.25% |
0.59% |
0.82% |
|
13 |
Mini Prestige (B2) |
198 |
153 |
29.41% |
0.53% |
0.39% |
|
14 |
Sports Prestige (G2) |
127 |
137 |
− 7.30% |
0.34% |
0.35% |
|
15 |
Luxury Prestige (F2) |
65 |
64 |
1.56% |
0.18% |
0.16% |
|
16 |
Large Standard (E1) |
21 |
9 |
133.33% |
0.06% |
0.02% |
|
17 |
Excluded (X) |
2 |
0 |
– |
0.01% |
0.00% |
Passenger Cars By County
|
County |
2018 Units |
2017 Units |
% Change |
2018 % Share |
2017 % Share |
|
Cork |
5065 |
5420 |
-6.55% |
13.64% |
13.90% |
|
Clare |
878 |
940 |
-6.60% |
2.36% |
2.41% |
|
Cavan |
438 |
528 |
-17.05% |
1.18% |
1.35% |
|
Carlow |
499 |
470 |
6.17% |
1.34% |
1.21% |
|
Dublin |
12775 |
13338 |
-4.22% |
34.41% |
34.20% |
|
Donegal |
864 |
992 |
-12.90% |
2.33% |
2.54% |
|
Galway |
1572 |
1656 |
-5.07% |
4.23% |
4.25% |
|
Kildare |
1706 |
1694 |
0.71% |
4.60% |
4.34% |
|
Kilkenny |
858 |
861 |
-0.35% |
2.31% |
2.21% |
|
Kerry |
859 |
932 |
-7.83% |
2.31% |
2.39% |
|
Limerick |
1473 |
1549 |
-4.91% |
3.97% |
3.97% |
|
Longford |
236 |
244 |
-3.28% |
0.64% |
0.63% |
|
Louth |
880 |
886 |
-0.68% |
2.37% |
2.27% |
|
Leitrim |
167 |
201 |
-16.92% |
0.45% |
0.52% |
|
Laois |
546 |
569 |
-4.04% |
1.47% |
1.46% |
|
Meath |
1266 |
1327 |
-4.60% |
3.41% |
3.40% |
|
Monaghan |
320 |
346 |
-7.51% |
0.86% |
0.89% |
|
Mayo |
682 |
816 |
-16.42% |
1.84% |
2.09% |
|
Offaly |
549 |
542 |
1.29% |
1.48% |
1.39% |
|
Roscommon |
386 |
427 |
-9.60% |
1.04% |
1.09% |
|
Sligo |
370 |
396 |
-6.57% |
1.00% |
1.02% |
|
Tipperary |
1171 |
1193 |
-1.84% |
3.15% |
3.06% |
|
Waterford |
985 |
1015 |
-2.96% |
2.65% |
2.60% |
|
Westmeath |
584 |
649 |
-10.02% |
1.57% |
1.66% |
|
Wicklow |
958 |
954 |
0.42% |
2.58% |
2.45% |
|
Wexford |
1038 |
1058 |
-1.89% |
2.80% |
2.71% |
Used Imports Sales Soar
Used imports continued to grow with a circa with circa 9,060 units registered. That’s a 20 per cent increase in January 2018 compared to the same month last year. Despite the downturn in diesel sales in the new car market, used diesel imports were up 17 per cent on last year.