Pandemic puts brake on new car sales in Kilkenny: new figures
New car sales in Kilkenny have dropped by 20% in just one year.
New vehicle registration figures released by The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show there were just 535 new registrations in Kilkenny in January. This compares to 666 sales recorded in January 2020, a 19.7% decrease.
Nationally, new cars registrations for January are down 17.8% (25,191) when compared to January 2020 (30,650).
Light Commercial vehicles (LCV) are down 10.9% (5,033) over the same period (5,647). HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) registrations have also decreased by 4.5% (340) in comparison to January 2020 (356).
However, used car imports have increased again to 6,824 in January, a 3.1% rise on the same period last year.
New electric car registrations increased by 10% with 980 registered in January 2021, compared to 891 January 2020.
Commenting on the latest figures, SIMI Deputy Director General Tom Cullen said: “New car registrations are down 17% on January 2020, the fifth consecutive January that new car sales have fallen.
“On a positive note, despite the fall in new cars sales both Electric Vehicles and PHEVS are ahead of last January, and with more models and supply coming on stream as the year progresses, it is anticipated that this growth will continue,” Mr Cullen added.
