New car sales up 26% so far this year

New car registrations rose by 11 per cent last month compared to May 2014. So far this year 80,913 new cars were registered, up 26 per cent on the same five months of last year.

Volkswagen remains the best-selling brand with 10,193 registrations, followed by Toyota (8,605), Ford (7,807), and Hyundai (7,493). The Korean brand has had a surprisingly strong performance this year, pushing itself up the sales ranks. At the premium end of the market Audi has recorded 3,354 new cars registered, ahead of BMW on 2,830 and Mercedes-Benz with 1,792. Meanwhile the economic recovery is also reflected in the pick-up in luxury car sales, with Porsche recording 49 registrations, Maserati six, while there have been two Teslas and a Bentley added to the Irish car fleet so far this year.

In terms of individual models the VW Golf is the best-selling car this year, followed by the Ford Focus. The battle for family saloon cars also sees the Passat (2,093) outselling the Mondeo (1,458) - both relatively new arrivals on the Irish market.

The sale of commercial vehicles, long regarded as a bellwether for economic activity, shows a 56 per cent rise in light Commercial Vehicles, with 13,835 new registrations up to the end of May.

According to Brian Cooke, Deputy Director General of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry: "We are fast approaching the half way mark of 2015, with confidence continuing to grow in the economy generally and among SIMI members regarding the business outlook in the months ahead."