The new car market in Galway is continuing to recover, with sales up around 15% on 2015.
Statistics compiled for the Connacht Tribune by car history checking website Motorcheck.ie show that sales for new passenger vehicles (cars, jeeps, people carriers and caravans) in Galway City and County from January to mid-December 2016 were up 15% on the same period last year (from 5,069 to 5,832).
In fact, sales have almost trebled on 2009, when the market collapsed and just 2,026 were registered in the twelve-month period.
Commercials and HGVs were also up in 2016 – from 1,483 last year to 1,317 (12%), while there was a slight increase in motorcycles from 22 to 25.
The Top 10 most popular new cars in Galway during the past year were the Hyundai Tucson (308 units sold); Toyota Corolla (254 sold); Skoda Octavia (213); Nissan Qashqai (207); VW Golf (194); Ford Focus (183); Toyota Yaris (178); Toyota Rav-4 (163); Toyota Auris (150) and VW Passat (141).
The majority (4,250) were diesel engine, followed by petrol (1,389), hybrid (162) and electric (16).
Grey, black, silver, white and red were the most popular colours, with MPVs being the most popular body type, followed by saloons and hatchbacks. For the purposes of comparison, in Galway in 2014, there were 3,378 new passenger vehicles sold; while in 2013, there were 2,961 sold. In 2012 there were 3,132; in 2011, there were 3,839 sold. In 2010, there were 3,894 recorded – almost double the 2,026 recorded in 2009, but also down by one-third on the 5,855 recorded in 2008, when the collapse in the motor trade began and resulted in a series of dealership closures.
Department of Transport figures show that in 2007, a total of 10,839 new passenger vehicles were registered in Galway.
Meanwhile, for the used car import sector, 4,537 were registered in Galway up until mid-December of this year – a sizeable 48% increase on the 3,061 for the same period in 2015.
The Top 10 most popular imported cars in Galway during the past year were the Ford Focus (381, up 53%); VW Golf (up 79% to 327); VW Passat (up 51% to 272); Audi A4 (up 58% to 183); Hyundai i30 (up 78% to 144); Toyota Avensis (up 70% to 138); Audi A6 (up 81% to 132); Vauxhall Insignia (down 12% to 128); Vauxhall Astra (up 3% to 128) and the Ford Mondeo (down 8% to 127).
The majority (3,818) were diesel engine, followed by petrol (628), hybrid (70) and electric (17).
Black, grey, silver, blue and white were the most popular colours, with MPVs being the most popular body type, followed by hatchbacks and saloons.