Highest July new car sales in Donegal since 2008
There have been more new car sales in Donegal this July than there has been in the county for the past seven years.
A total of 30 new ‘142’ cars were sold in the county in July – more than there has been in any July since 2008, when the lower car Co2 emissions rate was introduced to new cars here.
The attraction of the new ‘142’ number plate would appear to be pulling in a few extra punters to the garages around the county, according to the latest Central Statistics Office figures.
However, the increase in new car sales was not just seen in July but it had continued throughout 2014, with more sales in the first half of the year than there has been since 2010.
From January to July 2014, a total of 178 new cars were sold in the county, the most since 2010 when 214 were sold in the first half of the year.
In recent history 2008, before the effects of the recession hit in, was the busiest period for car dealerships in the county, with 293 new cars sold from January to July.
The most popular choice in Donegal for new car buyers is Toyota cars with a total of seven new models being sold in 2014 – amounting to 14.5% of the market share in the county.
Other makes, which includes the Inishowen Motors’ Kia Motors, which comes under the ‘other’ category, sold a total of six new cars in the first six months of the year, while Peugeot, Hyundai and Opel each sold three new cars each.
There were no sales of premium brand cars, such as Audi and BMW, but there was one ‘142’ Mercedes Benz sold somewhere in the county.
The most popular brand in the country in July was Ford, with 1,596 sales nationwide. This was followed by Volkswagen (1,590) and then Toyota (1,572)
Meanwhile, there was 32 second hand cars sold in July this year, the majority, 16, coming under the ‘other category’ in the CSO statistics.
Ford was also a popular choice for second hand buyers in the county with a total of six sales throughout the month.
