New car sales up 28.5% as Toyota becomes best-selling brand

New car sales for the first three months of 2016 are up 28.5 per cent on last year with 82,882 new cars registered. Toyota is now the best-selling brand so far this year with 9,204 cars registered, ahead of Hyundai with 8,799 and Volkswagen with 8,586.

The best selling model of 2016 is the Hyundai Tucson, followed by the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus.

The rise in new car sales has meant every brand except Citroën recorded first quarter sales growth. The French brand has seen its sales drop 10.75 per cent so far this year.

In a further sign of economic recovery, the sale of new light commercial vehicles is up 34 per cent in the first quarter compared to last year, with 13,461 registrations, while heavy good vehicle registrations are up 63 per cent, with 1,062 registrations.

Diesel remains the favoured engine type for new car buyers, representing 70 per cent of change. Electric car sales remain relatively static with just 259 registrations so far this year, compared to 249 for the first three months of last year. The vast majority of new electric car registrations are accounted for by the Nissan Leaf, with sales of 237 so far this year.

Electric and hybrid

This is despite the introduction of several new all-electric models across various brands. Range anxiety seems the predominant concern amongst buyers and despite the significant investment in recharging stations consumers remain concerned about running out of power and about the relatively lengthy recharging times.

There is better news on the hybrid front, with petrol electric hybrid sales - cars such as the new Toyota Prius - recording an increase in registrations in the first quater to 1,285 from 643 over the same quarter last year. However, the total registrations for alternative power options - hybrids and all variants of hybrids - comes to 1,649 in a market of 82,882 new cars.

At the premium end of the market Audi, with 3,589 registrations, remains out in front of BMW, with 2,687, and Mercedes-Benz with 1,817 registrations.

BMW has recorded eight sales for its i8 super car so far this year, while Porsche has sold three Carrera GTs. In the market for luxury SUVs, the new Volvo XC90, with 223 sales, is slightly ahead of BMW’s X5 with 220 and Audi’s Q7 with 164 registrations.

160,000 new cars in 2016

There was strong registration activity on the last day of the month as dealers and distributors sought to meet sales targets. A total of 5,251 new cars were registered on Thursday, March 31st, 24 per cent of the total month’s sales. In terms of the total sales in March, registrations on Thursday represented 55 per cent for Fiat, 46 per cent for Renault and 45 per cent of the monthly sales for Seat.

Monthly sales for March didn't record the same level of growth as the year to date, with a 14 per cent improvement on the same month last year. However, Alan Nolan, director general fo the Society of the Irish Motor Industry: "While the stats show a lower percentage increase for the month it is important to put this into context, as the sales period for March 2016 had two trading days less than in 2015, with Easter having fallen in April last year. Even with this, the increase in sales across all sectors has continued upwards and it is encouraging to see consumers and businesses investing in their vehicles again."

Commenting on its position as the best selling brand Steve Tormey, chief executive of Toyota Ireland, said: "We're delighted with the strong start we've had in 2016 and feel very well placed to continue to capitalise on the growing new car market." Toyota is predicting total new car sales for 2016 will total approximately 160,000.