AS car sales pushed up 70 per cent last month on the same period last year, Ford maintained its position as the country’s best-selling car brand, according to statistics released by the Society for the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI). Toyota, Volkswagen, Renault and Opel complete the top five in new registration plates respectively.
Total sales in the month rose to 8,677 units from 5,084 last year. Ford, with 1,341 cars, or 15.5 per cent market share, was the most popular brand, ahead in per centage points of rival marques Toyota (12.1 per cent) and VW (11.5 per cent). Total year to date sales stand at 59,475, a 41.9 per cent increase on the figure for the same period to May 2009 (17,574).
The Ford Focus and Fiesta were respectively number one and two models in the sales charts for both the month of May and year to date 2010. In May, Focus and Fiesta notched up sales of 533 and 421 respectively.
“These figures are good news for ourselves in Ford and for the wider car industry in Ireland,” says Eddie Murphy, chairman and managing director, Ford Ireland. ”It is heartening that the Ford Focus and Fiesta continue to be favourites with Irish motorists. The government scrappage scheme has certainly contributed to the popularity of both models. Overall, considering the detail of the latest figures from SIMI, it would seem that car sales in Ireland will finish the year at around 85,000 – a considerable increase on last year’s figure”.
The commercial vehicle sector remained weak last month, with just 822 registrations compared to 794 in May 2009. Ford again topped the market, with 123 units or 15 per cent market share.
