While Irish car dealers continue to struggle with lockdown issues, the picture for the automotive industry in Europe generally is much improved with sales up 63% in March. 1.39 million vehicles were registered in Europe in March, which is the highest single month figure since June 2019.

The Volkswagen Group was Europe’s top selling car maker with its sales up 46% in March, but perhaps the most impressive performance was from the second place manufacturer Stellantis, the new name for the group encompassing Peugeot, Citroen, Opel and Fiat, which saw its sales increase by 141%.

However, despite the growth the industry is still very concerned that future sales will be restricted by the worldwide shortage of semiconductors. Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen Group, commented, "The only thing that is currently limiting and slowing down this recovery is the critical supply situation worldwide with regard to various semiconductor types."

This shortage has restricted production at many global car plants and lead to many temporary closures.