THE FIRST HALF of 2018 was a two-sided story for Ireland’s car market.

On the one hand, new car registrations fell 4.5 per cent in the first half of the year, with just over 87,000 vehicles registered for 181.

This drop is at odds with the economic growth of the country but should be looked at in context of used car imports of which there was a 12.8 per cent increase over the same period last year. 

In addition to the rise in imports, more and more drivers are showing interest in electric and hybrid vehicles, with 1m searches for electric vehicles compared to 317,000 in the same period last year.

So among the new cars sold between January and June 2018, what were the most popular models? Here’s the list in full:

Source: DoneDeal

First up was the Nissan Qashqai with 3,045 units registered, followed by the Hyundai Tucson with 2,919.

This marks a decrease in Tucson sales of 18.35 per cent compared to the same period of 2017, but there is a new Tucson on the way this year, so perhaps customers are holding off until this updated model arrives.

There are no real surprises or upsets on the top ten list but something to note is how well the Ford Focus and Kia Sportage did, with 2,495 and 2,164 registrations apiece. There really isn't much difference in what has been registered this year compared to last which is impressive given that the Ford Focus is being replaced by a new model and the Sportage is about to be updated.

The Volkswagen Tiguan had 1,986 registrations, a 25.22 per cent increase on the first half of 2017. That could be down to better stock availability compared to last year, especially in the popular R-Line trim.

Here is the full top ten list:

The figures were published as part of the DoneDeal.ie Motor Industry Review for the first half of 2018.

More: Here are Ireland's top 10 used car brands for 2018 so far (by cars sold) >

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