The car sales industry in Galway is continuing to show signs of recovery, with sales up by more than one quarter already this year.
Figures compiled by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry show there were 3,472 new cars sold in the city and county for the three months to the end of March this year – up 27.9% from the 2,714 in the same period last year.
According to dealers locally, the increase is down to pent-up demand from people who held onto their cars during the downturn.
Tony Barbour, Group Sales Manager at Motorpark Galway, said: “The first quarter of 2016 has been a strong start for the industry and particularly here in Galway.
“There has been a pent-up demand from those who own older cars looking to replace them with new cars following the downturn and we would expect to see this continue and help the industry towards normal levels of sales.
“Not only will this continue to help the industry in the county, but it will also continue the upsurge in jobs that the motor industry has seen in recent years,” said Mr Barbour.
Separate figures compiled for the Connacht Tribune by car history checking website Motorcheck.ie show the Hyundai Tucson was the biggest-seller so far this year in Galway, with 189 units sold; followed by the Toyota Corolla at 167; the Skoda Octavia at 132; the Ford Focus at 130 and the Nissan Qashqai at 126.
Of the cars sold in Galway in the first three months, 553 were registered to a limited company.
Diesel engines accounted for the majority of sales at 2,551, followed by petrol at 808, hybrids at 95 and electric vehicles at 13.
MPVs were the most popular body type with 1,026 sold, followed by saloons (863), hatchbacks (817), estates/SUVs (750), coupes (9) and convertibles (3).
The figures show the most popular colour for a new car in Galway is grey (722), followed by black (688), silver (542), white (425) and red (392).
There has also been an increase in the number of secondhand cars being imported – 952 were registered here in the first three months, up around 12% from 851 in the same period last year.
The most popular imports are the Ford Focus (104); VW Golf (61); VW Passat (60); Vauxhall insignia (44) and Ford Mondeo.
The Motorcheck.ie figures show sales are also up for commercial and Heavy Goods Vehicles for the first three months, with 704 sales registered – up 24.8% from 564 in the same three-month period last year.
Economist Jim Power said he expected 2017 to be another good year for vehicle sales.
“New car registrations should be capable of expanding by around 25%, giving total sales of 156,181 for 2016. Looking ahead to 2017, while it is impossible to forecast that far ahead with any degree of confidence, another good year should be in prospect for the auto industry.”
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