Figures issued by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) shoe that over 100,000 cars have been sold in the first half of the year.

New car registrations were up + 23% (101,338) ahead on the same period last year (82,337) while the month of June saw an increase of 12% (1,626) compared to June 2015 (1,448).

In the business sector Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV), are currently up 9% (867) on June last year (799) and year to date are up 26% (18,417) overall.

While Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) registrations, have witnessed a decline of -29% for the month of June (112) 2016 when compared to the same month last year (157), however registrations are up 42% year to date.

Commenting on the figurers SIMI Director General Alan Nolan said “At the start of the year we predicted that this year’s registration numbers should reach 150,000 for the first time since 2008 and these figurers keep us on track to deliver that. From today of course the focus turns to the 162 registration period. This year promises to be the first normal year of registrations since the recession and with the range of attractive offers available across all brands we are confident that 162 will also deliver in the coming months.”

Ford has emerged as the leading automotive brand in Ireland with combined sales of of 15,006 units (10,027 cars and 4,979 vans). Ford’s six month sales total finished ahead of VW with 14,005 units (10,945 cars and 3,060 vans) and Toyota who registered 12,165 units (10,807 cars and 1,358 vans).

“We are delighted to be at the top of the sales charts at this point as we head into the important July sales period when we welcome the new 162 registration”’ said Ciarán McMahon, Chairman and Managing Director of Ford Ireland. “With the continued upward trend in car sales and, in particular, the stronger growth in commercial vehicle sales, we are very hopeful that Ford will see out the year as the top-selling brand in Ireland for the combined market of cars and vans.”

Top Models June 2016:

1 Hyundai Tucson 5,124
2 VW Golf Range 3,585
3 Ford Focus 3,315
4 Skoda Octavia 3,260
5 Nissan Qashqai 3,161