As people hold out for the new 152 plates, June has shown a decrease for the first time since the introduction of the new dual-registration system. Official statistics from SIMI (The Society of the Irish Motor Industry) shows that 1,449 new cars were registered during last month. In comparison with June last year, 235 less (-13.95%) cars were sold.

Overall, the market is still performing at a good rate, with a year-to-date increase of over 25% in comparison with last year. To date 82,337 new cars have been registered. During the same period in 2014 that figure was significantly lower at 65,677. When compared with the same period in 2013, 29,075 more cars have been registered during 2015.

Suzanne Sheridan of the automotive recruitment agency, Start Monday, said; "For the first time in 7 years, car sales look like they are going to surpass 100,000. In the first 6 months of 2015, over 82,000 cars have been sold, almost 10,000 more than the whole of 2013.

While car sales in June were down 14% on last year, there is an expectation that many buyers are holding off for potential offers in July 2015.

Taking each of the top selling 15 car brands, all have seen sales increase on last year.

For the first half of 2015, every county in Ireland has seen an increase in car sales. Dublin has experienced a substantial increase in sales. An additional 7,000 vehicles were sold in the capital, an increase of 28%."

So far statistics show that Volkswagen are the biggest selling brand in the country. According to VW, their Passat sales are up by 54%. Volkswagen Group statistics shows that their brands (SEAT, Skoda, Audi and Volkswagen) now account for 1 in every 4 car purchases. The Volkswagen Golf appears to be the highest volume selling vehicle and the car now accounts for under 5% of the Irish market share.

Meanwhile, Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) registrations has seen an increase of 52% for the month of June, and year on year this calculates as a 56% increase. Heavy Good Vehicle (HGV) registrations, which started off slow until the month of May, have shown an increase of 89% for the month of June. Year-to-date show HGV registrations as being up 4% on last year.

Brian Cooke Deputy Director General SIMI said: “The first half of 2015 so far has been a positive news story for the Industry and we expect that this will continue for the remainder of the year. Car registrations have shown strong growth, and while car sales for the month of June are down on last year, this is not surprising considering that many customers are waiting for the arrival of the new 152 plate which commences today.

Car Manufacturers and dealers have in recent weeks been busy promoting their 152 incentives, which offer great value across all brands, in preparation for increased activity which is expected with the arrival of the new plate. Industry projections indicate that new car sales are set to soar to 120,000 by the end of the year, and it is expected growth will continue into next year also.

The increase in both business and consumer confidence is evident within the commercial vehicle sector, with Light Commercial Vehicle registrations showing an increase so far this year of over 50%, and we can expect to see sales exceed 20,000 for the first time since 2008. HGV registrations have seen improvement for the month of June which will hopefully continue as the year progresses”.

The top selling car for the month of June was the Toyota Avensis. So far this year the top selling models are; Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus, Nissan Qashqai, Skoda Octavia; Toyota Corolla. The top selling make of car are; Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan.