The figures for car sales up to the end of April 2017 have been released and show the sales are significantly down on this time last year.

Official statistics released this month by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show new car registrations for April were down 24% at 7,865 compared with 10,381 in April 2016, while new car registrations for the year to date are down 10% at 83,831 on the same period last year (93,205). Light commercial vehicles (LCV) show a 25% (1,716) decrease on April 2016 (2,302) and year to date are down 13% (13,653). Heavy commercial vehicles (HGV) are also showing a decline of 25% for April (235) compared with last year (313) and are down 8% (1,266) for the year to date.

Manufacturer top ten

Only Renault and Kia have had a better start to 2017 than last year. In Renault’s case the growth is less than 2% and can be attributed to the success of the new Megane, which has seen a 700% rise in sales in comparison to 2016. Kia has shown growth of nearly 8%, which can be attributed to good sales figures for the Sportage, Sorrento, Rio and Optima. These all showed percentage rises of between 9% and 50%.

Some other manufacturers that are bucking the trend are Mercedes Benz and Jaguar, which are both showing 40% plus improvements in sales year on year. This is both to do with the improvement in the economy and also the introduction of new models. The new E-class for Mercedes and the F-pace for Jaguar have both been very successful in a crowded market.

Top models

The top 10 models make for interesting reading, with some of last year’s big sellers reducing by significant percentages such as the market leading Hyundai Tucson, which showed a near 30% drop year on year.

At the other end of the top 10, the Renault Megane showed a spectacular rise. This is due to the new model and attractive finance packages.

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Special focus: motors