Kilkenny car sales move up a gear after Covid crash
After a very difficult year for the motor trade, car sales in Kilkenny are beginning to rise again.
New figures published by the Society of the Ireland Motor Industry (SIMI) this week reveal 1,122 new car registrations locally between January and April this year.
This is an increase of just over 6% on the 1,058 new car sales registered for the same period last year.
Nationally, SIMI said there were 7,166 new car registrations for the month of April compared to just 343 in April last year. But it is still lower than the 8,904 new car registrations in April 2019.
A total of 55,207 new cars have been registered in the year to date, compared to 50,138 for the same period in 2020 (+10.11) and 73,030 in 2019 (-24.41%).
SIMI Director General Brian Cooke said: “While new cars sales to the end of April have now overtaken sales for the same period last year, they are still over 24% behind pre-Covid 2019. The investment in on-line selling platforms over the last year and the ability to offer a click and deliver service to car buyers has been a lifeline to the Industry during this difficult time.
“The phased re-opening of showrooms announced by Government last week has been welcomed by the Industry, and retailers are cautiously optimistic about car sales, both new and used, in the weeks and months ahead. It is hoped that pent up demand allied with the increase in personal savings will see customers returning to showrooms.
“It should be underlined that car retailing operates in large open spaces, and with low footfall and the ability to social distance well beyond the recommended two metres, showrooms are a safe environment for customers.”
