New car registrations top 2,760 in June

Some 2,767 new cars were sold in the State in June, almost three times the number bought in the same month last year and twice the pre-Covid total, new figures show.

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) said on Thursday that new car registrations hit 2,767 in June, compared with 1,006 during the same month last year and 1,408 in June 2019, before the pandemic struck.

However, the total number of new cars registered in the Republic in the year to date trails the comparable figure for 2019.

Some 63,867 new cars have been sold so far this year, 21 per cent down on the 80,758 they registered in the first half of 2019.

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The industry body argued that comparing this year’s totals with those of 2019 gave a more accurate picture of trends in new vehicle registrations.

New light commercial registrations rose to 992 in June from 747 in the same month in 2019.

Heavy goods vehicle registration totals fell two-thirds to 102 from 316 in June 2019.

The Republic imported 5,631 used cars in June, compared with 8,060 in the same month of 2019.

Motorists bought 390 new electric vehicles last month, bringing the total registered so far this year to 4,333.

Brian Cooke, SIMI director general, said that the past 15 months had been difficult for the motor industry.

“ Today, July 1st, with the new 212 registration plate, will hopefully be a turning point for the industry,” he said.

Mr Cooke added that with both the lead-in time provided by the reopening of showrooms and a strong order bank, retailers were hopeful they could recover some of the sales lost during the first half of the year.