New car sales in Kilkenny stuck in second gear as they crash by 12%
New car sales in Kilkenny have dropped by 12%, latest figures reveal.
Nationally, the total level of new car registrations are down 7.0% (116,129) when compared to the same period last year (124,884), according to figures published by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).
In Killkenny, a total of 2,338 new cars were sold in from January to October in 2018. But this year that figure has dropped to 2,056, a 12.06% fall-off.
Conversely, the number of imported used cars for October increased by 25.4% to 11,460 on the same month last year (9,139). Over the last 12 month period imports are up 8.65% (93,893) ahead of 2018 (86,417).
SIMI said in a statement: “New car registrations for the month of October show an improvement on the same month last year, with much of this growth accounted for by an increase in the sale of Electric Vehicles.
“However, new car registrations year to date continue to disappoint, down 7% on 2018 and over 20% since 2016. The impact of Brexit and sterling weakness continues to drive used car imports which is impacting negatively on the new car market.”
