Sales of new cars for July and the arrival of the 132 registration plate have surpassed all expectations.

The latest statistics from Motorcheck.ie show that the new car industry has posted an impressive increase in July sales of 164%. 11,621 new cars were sold in July under the new 132 number plate as against 4,410 last year. This was the third highest month for car sales this year, second only to March by 55 units.

The results mean that the unprecedented drop in June of 73% was rectified bringing the combined total for June and July in at 13,284, 24% over the same period last year.

Commenting on the latest statistics Motorcheck.ie Co-Founder Shane Teskey said, "The 132 number plate has certainly made its mark and introduced a significant boost for new car sales at a time when it is badly needed. Hopefully this trend will continue into 2014 and beyond".

Motorcheck's statistics show sales for the year-to-date now total 64,618, 9% behind the same period in 2012 which was 70,774.

Alan Nolan, Director General of SIMI in a press released today says: “Sales of cars on the new 132 plate have exceeded the Industry's expectations. We have consistently said that this is a long-term project, seeking to shift some activity into the second half of the year, and honestly we expected it would take a number of years for car buyers to embrace. In reality though there was huge interest from the public in the new number plate from the very start and this has translated into a very strong level of sales during the month. The value of the new plate has even been recognised by commercial vehicle buyers with both Heavy and Light Commercials showing a strong increase this month as well. The figures speak for themselves and the offers and incentives from both distributors and dealers encouraged consumers to buy this July. With many offers now extended there is no sign of interest fading just yet and with footfall in showrooms continuing, we hope the momentum continues during August.”

New car sales had dropped-off in June in anticipation of the new plate but the total for the three months May, June and July now exceeds the same three months last year by nearly 4%, after the first four months of the year had shown a drop of 13.2%.  

Alan Nolan continues: “While this very strong July boost does not turn a poor year into a good one it shows that the two-period registration system does at least allow us to make some recovery from a poor start to the year and it looks like improving the share of business in the second half of the year from 16% last year to more than 25% this year. That is a huge progress in the first year and with strong offers and interest continuing hopefully we may do even better than that.” 
  
Here is how the month compares according to the figures released by the SIMI:
· 11,640 new cars sold in July this year, up 7,216 (163%) on last year (4,424)
· 864 more cars sold in July than combination of June and July last year
· 7,216 more than July last year
· July 2013 is the best July since the beginning of the recession in 2008