Car sales figures for the first four months of the year show Ford building a steady lead in terms of new car registrations against its competitors.
Figures for car registrations up to the end of April show the market down 3.99 per cent on the same period last year, in line with end of year predictions of a four to five per cent fall in sales on 2002. By April 30th 85,946 new cars were registered, down from 89,520 in the first four months of last year.
This normally represents about 55 per cent of the year's total sales and industry spokespersons now expect firms in the coming months to be focused largely on consolidating market share rather than seeking to increase the market.
Dealers claim a significant downturn in showroom traffic so far this year, though a higher percentage of visitors are now interested buyers rather than merely window shoppers. In terms of marques, Ford continues to lead the way, with a 12.1 per cent share of the market so far this year, up from 11.34 per cent at the end of last year. The increase has been attributed to sales of the new Fiesta and Fusion. Last year's best selling marque, Toyota, is at 10.19 per cent, down from its end of year share of 11.37 per cent. However, it is expected sales of the Japanese marque will rise in the coming months as its new Avensis begins to show.
Elsewhere VW, Nissan and Opel are all retaining their market presence with Nissan closing in on Toyota's second position due in part to strong demand for its new Micra.
Other marques to perform well so far this year include Mercedes, up from 2.49 per cent last year to 3.6 per cent so far this year.
Meanwhile Hyundai are also recording increased market presence, with its share up from just over 3 per cent to 3.54 per cent to the end of April.
However, it is not all good news. Fiat's international problems are reflected in its Irish share of the market, with the Fiat marque showing registration figures down from 5.82 per cent last year to 4.17 per cent so far this year.
Yet, as much as car dealers are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn the most significant fall off has been in light commercial vehicles, down 10.39 per cent on the same time last year. This is on top of a fall of 9.9 per cent for last year.
Here Ford, the dominant player in the market, has also increased its market share, from 16.2 per cent to 17.5 per cent, while its main competitors witnessed a drop in share of between one and three per cent.
