New car registrations for March fell by 63% compared to March 2019, with showrooms shuttered during the Coronacrisis.

The number of cars registered in March was just 6,170 compared with 16,690 in the same period of 2019. It’s a similar story with light commercial vehicles, which recorded 1,430 registrations, down 53% year-on-year. 

However, within the car category electric vehicle sales continued their upward trend, with 22% more sold in March than a year earlier.

Used car imports also declined 48% on March 2019 and by 35% year to date.

The only sector showing an increase was heavy good vehicles, where 313 new registrations represented a rise of 17.67% on March 2019’s total of 266. Year to date HGV registrations were also up by 12.6%, suggesting the March 2020 figure was not just a blip.

In Association with

SIMI director general Brian Cooke (pictured) said: “While showrooms, service and other activities in the industry are closed, members are available to assist in emergency call-out or delivery services. This will be vital in keeping essential and emergency services moving.

“The industry and its employees, like so many secotrs, is feeling the devastating impact of Covid-19. Even before the crisis commenced, the new car market was in decline, and this fall has accelerated rapidly in the last fortnight, with new car activity down nearly two-thirds on last year. 

“Whatever the duration of this crisis, once we emerge we will need to see decisive and ambitious action from government to protect the nearly 50,000 jobs in our sector.”

So far in 2020, the top selling car brands are Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda, and Ford. The top models are Toyota’s Corolla,  the Hyundai Tucson, Volkswagen Tiguan, Ford Focus, and Skoda Octavia.