The number of new cars sold in the Republic came to 76,256 in 2012, according to new figures published today. This represents a 12.3 per cent fall when compared with the 86, 932 cars licensed in 2011.
A report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) today shows that the number of used cars dropped from 41,149 in 2011 to 38,469 in 2012, down 6.5 per cent for the year.
Volkswagen was the most popular brand having sold a total of 9,782 cars in 2012, according to CSO figures. It was followed by Toyota, Ford and Nissan, who had sales of 9,414, 8,014 and 5,802 respectively.
Overall, the total number of new vehicles licensed was down 10.1 per cent, from 105,761 in 2011 to 95,093 in 2012.
Despite this, December proved to be a better month for car dealers than in 2011. Today’s figures show that 774 new cars were licensed last month, a 29.6 per cent increase compared with the 597 cars sold in December 2011.