Motor trade gears up for battle of brands

You could forgive the Irish motor trade for indulging in a few glasses of bubbly yesterday. After seemingly constant contraction, the new-car market is finally picking up. Sales in January, historically the busiest month of the year for new-car registrations, were up a whopping 33 per cent on last year.

Since 2008 dealers have occupied a world of woe. Cash-rich dealers invested heavily in their premises, with many making speculative investments in the property market as well. Sales was about taking orders and managing waiting lists. In 2007, the new-car market for the year was 186,238. In January of that year there were 10 Bentleys, 543 Land Rovers, 33 Porsches and 1,630 Mercedes registered in that month alone. In total 45,803 new cars were registered in January 2007. Then the wheels came off.

Sales in the first month of 2007 equate to more than half the number of new cars sold during the 12 months of 2013. And last year was regarded as a good one in light of what has happened in the past five years.

In the context of the boom years the recovery seems pallid and a little limp. What we have is a steady recovery in sales, but it comes amid a significantly different market landscape. Formerly led by two brands – Toyota and Ford – it's now dominated by the VW Group, which claims a 26 per cent share between its eponymous brand and sister marques Skoda, Audi and Seat.

But it's the arrival of Korean brand Hyundai that's perhaps more noteworthy. In third place, it has pushed Ford into fourth and while Skoda is rising up to fifth and clearly intent on taking on the Koreans, Hyundai's steady progression to the top end of the sales table is supported by similar growth globally by the brand.

There may be a little celebration in the motoring ranks, but recovery will also herald some intense battles for market share as firms fight it out to win over the returning motoring populous.