Ireland's August car sales up 32 pct year-on-year

Ireland's car sales in August reached 4,873, up 32 percent, when compared to the same month of 2013, according to latest figures on Monday.

The figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) showed that so far this year 89,279 new cars have been sold, an increase of 30 percent on 2013.

Volkswagen continues to be the most popular car brand in the country, representing 12.2 percent of all sales in the year to date. Meanwhile, more than 10.5 percent of cars sold in 2014 were made by Toyota, with Ford representing around 10 percent of sales.

The Volkswagen Golf is still the most popular model of car, with 4,170 sold between January and August. Nissan's Qashqai is the next most popular model in Ireland, followed closely by the Ford Focus.

Meanwhile, 73.4 percent of all vehicles sold in the first eight months of the year run on diesel, with most others being petrol-based.

This year new car registrations have generated an extra 171 million euros in revenue compared to the same period last year, according to the SIMI figures.

The increase in registrations in July and August alone generated an additional 68 million euros for the exchequer which brings the total for the year from new car sales to 720 million euros.

In addition, 4,200 new jobs have been created this year as a result of the success of the dual registration plate and the overall increase in business, the industry said.

Last year, a dual car registration system was introduced in Ireland for the first time, with the year split into two.

"The dual registration plate has really helped in spreading the sales through the year, which was the intention, but the real driver in increasing the registrations has been the level of growth in consumer demand, which has not been seen in the industry for some time," SIMI Director General Alan Nolan said.

Nolan predicted new car registrations will exceed 95,000 by the end of this year.

"We are still in the very early stages of recovery, having moved from 45 percent of normal sales volumes last year to about 60 percent this year," he said.

"Next year, new car sales have the potential to generate a further 100 million euro for the economy, on top of this year's growth and create 1,500 more jobs. However, it is crucial that this growth is not stalled by any negative decisions made in this year's budget." Enditem