In the first eight days of the new '132' plate, 4,675 new cars have been sold, exceeding last July's full month’s sales of 4,424. Sales have also exceeded that of July 2011.

Brian Cooke, Deputy Director General of SIMI "The first day of the new 132 plate was exceptional for sales and momentum hasn't slowed down. Dealers are extremely busy with customers reacting to July special offers from manufacturers and dealers.

Normally at this time of year, garages are slowing down but it looks like July 2013 appears to have changed customers’ buying patterns. The new plate was introduced to fix the problem of seasonality in the industry; when most cars were sold in the first half of the year. While it is still early days, we are already seeing positive signs that the new system is working.

Many dealers are reporting showroom footfall at January levels, traditionally the busiest month of the year for sales."

Top Selling Makes
      
Year to date. Exported on 9th July 2013
  
Rank  Make           2013 Units            2013 % Share

1        Ford                   895                        19.14%

2    Volkswagen         541                        11.57%

3      Hyundai              497                         10.63%

4     Toyota                  432                           9.24%

5    Nissan                  393                          8.41%

6    Opel                       222                        4.75%

7    Skoda                    201                          4.3%

8    Kia                         198                          4.24%

9   Renault                  168                         3.59%

10    Audi                     145                          3.1%