Car sales in Donegal are showing some hope with sales up by more than 15% compared to this time last year.
So far between January and April this year, new car sales for Donegal sit at 1,362 units.
This compares to 1,178 units last year, a rise of 15.53%.
Industry bosses say 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.”
5,676 used cars were imported in April 2021, compared with 200 imports in April 2020, a decrease on the 8,887 imports in April 2019.
Year to date used imports are up 36.4% (24,095) on 2020 (17,666) and down 32.54% on 2019 (35,719).
For the month of April 596 new electric vehicles were registered compared to 50 in April 2020. So far this year 3,414 new electric cars have been registered in comparison to 1,700 on the same period 2020.
Electric Vehicle and Plug-in Hybrids and Hybrids continue to increase their market share, with their combined market share now over 22.61%. Diesel now accounts for 36.86%, Petrol 32.06%, Hybrid 16.66%, Electric 6.18% and Plug-in Electric Hybrid 5.95%
Brian Cooke, SIMI Director General 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.”
