New car sales down by 40.8%

The number of new cars licensed in October fell by more than 40 per cent when compared with the same month last year.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office show there was a total of 2,216 new cars licensed last month, down from 3,742 in October 2010.

Some 71.8 per cent (1,583) of cars licensed in October had diesel engines and 25.8 per cent were petrol (572).

Volkswagen was the most popular brand among consumers, with 805 new cars licensed, followed by Ford (789) and Toyota (587).

The number of new goods vehicles sold also showed a year on year fall, with 645 sold last month compared to 711 in the same period in 2010 – a 9.3 per cent decrease.

A total of 84,937 new cars have been licensed so far in 2011, a 3.4 per cent increase on the same period last year.

The fall in the number of vehicles sold can be partly attributed to the ending of the Government scrappage scheme in June.

Since the scheme ended year on year new car sales were down by 38.9 per cent in September, 31.2 per cent in August and 0.9 per cent in July.

The scheme offered tax relief on vehicle registration tax on the sale of a new car – up to €1,500 last year and €1,250 this year before it ended – when a car 10 years or older was scrapped.