New cars for rental market down 80% on 2019

Visitors to Ireland are unlikely to see any easing of car rental prices, with the supply of new cars to the hire drive market down 80.9 per cent on 2019.

New hire drive registrations for the first five months came to 2,071. This is down from 2,673 this time last year and from 14,000 for the same period in 2019.

The cost of hiring a car overseas has risen dramatically since pre-pandemic times. Restrictions introduced after Covid hit in the spring of 2020 hit the travel sector and forced car hire companies worldwide to sell a significant percentage of their fleets just to stay afloat. They have faced enormous difficulties trying to restock their cars.

Supply constraints due to the global silicon chips shortage and the impact of the war in Ukraine on certain parts supplies have left long delivery delays for both hire drive companies and regular car dealers. Previously, hire drive companies received substantial discounts as car-makers sought to offload excess stock.

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With the overall global car market suffering a supply shortage, hire drive companies now find themselves at the back of the waiting list.

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Even with this supply problems felt by many regular buyers remain severe, who are being told that any new car ordered now will not be arriving until next year.

Customers have also complained that some dealers are declining deposits for future deliveries of some cars. A spokesman for one car manufacturer told The Irish Times this reluctance is partly due to soaring raw material costs making car companies wary about committing to a price now for a car that will not be produced until later in the year and delivered in early 2023.

According to new figures from the Society for the Irish Motor Industry (Simi), new car registrations are up 3.2 per cent on last year despite a fall of 10 per cent in May compared to the same month last year.

Brian Cooke, director general of Simi, said: “New vehicle registrations continue to remain challenging, with a slowdown during the month of May, reflecting the international supply chain issues. New car registrations year to date are over 20 per cent behind pre-Covid levels.”

Car companies with new stock on the ground have done well so far this year. Toyota and Hyundai have been able to significantly grow their market share.

Toyota is the best-seller so far in 2022, with 11,039 registrations, giving the company a 17.5 per cent market share. Hyundai is second with 8,586 and a 13.6 per cent share of the market.

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New car registrations in May totalled 5,303, down from 5,914 in the same month last year. Registrations for the year to date came to 63,045, up from 61,090 in the first five months of last year, but significantly down on the 79,350 registered in 2019, the last year before Covid.

Despite the supply shortages, demand for electric cars continues to soar, with 8,261 new EV cars sold this year, more than double the sales of last year.