Vroom to improve: Just six new cars registered in Kilkenny last month

Just six new car registrations were recorded in Kilkenny in the month of November, down one on the same period last year.

And total new registrations are down 12% on 2018, according to the latest figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).

A total of 2,062 cars have been newly registered in Kilkenny in 2019 so far, but this falls short of the 2,345 cars registered in the same period in 2018.

Overall in Ireland, Car registrations up until the end of November were down just shy of 7% when compared to the same period last year.

Simi’s figures show that for the second year in a row over 100,000 cars were imported into Ireland (104,000 until the end of November), while only 117,000 new cars were registered here, down from 125,000 in 2018.

For the whole of 2018, just 100, 755 cars were imported. This year has already surpassed that mark with another four weeks still remaining.

SIMI Director General said Brian Cooke admitted: “It has been a disappointing year for the Irish Motor Industry. For the second consecutive year, used car imports have exceeded 100,000, which is having a dampening impact on new car sales. With the 201 registration plate on the horizon, focus has already turned to January.

“With generous incentives for customers to buy a new car across all brands and across all market segments, members are hopeful for the busy start to 2020.”