Ireland sales of new vehicles down, but used ones up in 1st 4 months

DUBLIN, May 9 (Xinhua) -- A total of 86,163 new vehicles were sold in Ireland in the first four months of this year, down 4.2 percent from the same period last year, while used vehicle sales grew by 9.5 percent to 41,987 in the period, according to Central Statistics Office (CSO) data on Wednesday.

Of the total new vehicles sold in the January-April period this year, new private cars accounted for 69,959 units, down 5.7 percent year-on-year, while new goods vehicles accounted for 11,382 units, up 2.8 percent year-on-year, said CSO.

Of the total used vehicles sold in the first four months of this year, used private cars made up 33,377 units, up 10.8 percent year-on-year, while goods used vehicles accounted for 5,031 units, up 9.9 percent year-on-year, according to the CSO statistics.

Local media quoted vehicle traders as saying the increase in used vehicle sales in Ireland was partially due to the depreciation of the pound against the euro, which has gone down by 15 percent since the Brexit vote in Britain in June 2016, making the purchase of second-hand vehicles in Britain much cheaper for Irish vehicle buyers.

Many Irish people like to travel to Britain's Northern Ireland to buy second-hand vehicles, especially second-hand cars, as there are no border checks and customs tariffs between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Enditem