2014 WAS A BUMPER year for new car sales – with 96,253 units being sold.
This represents a 30% on the number of new cars sold in 2013 – or more than 22,000 extra vehicles.
The car industry had predicted total sales of approximately 85,000-90,000 units at the start of the year.
More than 21,000 new commercial cars were sold in 2014, up 43% on 2013 figures.
Over 1,000 motorcycles were also sold – representing a 25% annual increase.
Used car sales, which had remained relatively unchanged for the past number of years, increased by almost 50,000 vehicles in 2014. More than 835,000 used vehicles changed hands during the year, an increase of 6.3%.
Used cars imported into Ireland from other jurisdictions such as Great Britain and Northern Ireland were also up by 8.4%, with 54,290 used vehicles registered in 2014.
Michael Rochford, Managing Director of Motorcheck.ie – the site that compiled the figures – said 2014 had been “a really positive year for the motor trade all round”.
Early indications are that the positive trends will continue in 2015 with new car sales predicted to breach the magical 100,000 units. This was last achieved in 2008 when 142,000 units were sold.
The five most popular car models in 2014 were:
1. Volkwagen Golf
2. Nissan Qashqai
3. Ford Focus
4. Ford Fiesta
5. Toyota Corolla
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