A new survey by research company iReach has revealed that 28% of Irish people are planning to buy a car in the next 12 to 18 months. The study also shows 14% intend to purchase a new car, 13% intending to buy second-hand and 23% say they will likely choose hybrid for their next car choice.

The nationally representative survey of 1,000 Irish citizens was carried out in May and specifically examined consumers’ intentions to purchase a car, as well as car brand and powertrain preferences.

When presented with a list of the top 20 mass market car brands and asked which brand they would most likely choose for their next car purchase almost a quarter of respondents (23%) chose Toyota. This is supported by the 2020 Reptrak study again by iReach in February where 21% of respondents stated Toyota has the best reputation of all car brands.

The May survey found 23% of respondents favour a hybrid model for their next purchase in line with the Toyota strategy of selling almost exclusively self-charging hybrid models. In terms of other powertrains, 12% of survey respondents said they’d choose full-electric, 25% said they’d opt for petrol, 33% said diesel, while 6% indicated they would most likely purchase a plug-in hybrid.

Commenting on the survey results, Steve Tormey, Toyota Ireland CEO said, “We at Toyota are very much heartened to see the continued support for our brand in Ireland as evidenced by the strong iReach research results. As a brand, we strive to be an integral part of Irish society and the lives of the customers we have served for nearly fifty years. We intend to continue to support the country under our ‘Built for a Better World’ brand promise into the future, and pave the way towards a more sustainable world and a zero emissions motoring environment. As restrictions are lifted and we all have greater freedom to travel, we look forward to helping our customers, current and new, to rediscover the joys of hybrid motoring.”