Figures have just been released showing that new car registrations are up again for the month of March. Year-on-year, new registrations are up by 30% (19,046). March 2015 in comparison with the same month last year showed an increase of 33%.

It’s not just car registrations that are seeing an increase. Last month saw a 54% increase (2,846) in registrations of Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) in comparison with March 2014, and year to date they are showing a 59% increase.

SIMI (The Society of the Irish Motor Industry) Director General, Alan Nolan said:

“The increase in car registrations for the month of March is a good reflection of the growing consumer confidence in the economy which is so important for Industry. The most recent CSO Consumer Price Index had confirmed a reduction in the price of cars and in the cost of fuel, with petrol and diesel prices both down. The position for consumers has also improved in relation to the availability of finance and a wider range of finance options. With disposable income also beginning to increase we can be confident that the improving volumes in vehicle should continue to grow over the coming months.

The LCV statistics are extremely positive reflecting the significant improvement in the business environment, particularly in the home market, which had been so impacted over recent years. HGV figures are up slightly for the month of March, having been down since the start of the year, indicating that the backlog of registrations through the new Approval system is beginning to ease. However HGV registration are still down overall year to date but with the pre-registration Approval system continuing to improve we are hopeful that the HGV numbers will recover somewhat in the coming months”.

So far 64,716 new cars have been registered during 2015. According to SIMI the top selling car brands are; Volkswagen, Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, Nissan. The top selling models are; Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus, Nissan Qashqai, Toyota Corolla, Skoda Octavia