ŠKODA Ireland has issued some trends and predictions for the car sales market in 2020 after enjoying a very successful year in 2019.

The company expects total new passenger car sales in 2020 to increase slightly from its 2019 level of 117,031 to around 120,000. This it believes will be partly driven by a decline in used imports due to the new NOx Tax.

ŠKODA expects the fast growth in Battery Electric Vehicles to continue and gather more pace. In 2019, 3,443 Battery Electric Vehicles were sold compared to 1,233 in 2018, a three-fold increase. However, the 2020 market will still be dominated by petrol and diesel vehicles which are likely to account for 85% of new car sales. Plug in Hybrid Electric Vehicle are expected to a be an area of major growth for the car maker with 250 deliveries alone planned for the new Superb iV PHEV.

A further tends is likely to be a continued move towards automatic transmissions. One in three new cars sold in 2019 were automatic and as this technology develops ŠKODA expects more and more drivers to opt for automatic transmissions such as its 7-speed DSG in 2020.

Reflecting on 2019, John Donegan, Brand Director ŠKODA Ireland said, “The ŠKODA brand has enjoyed its most successful year in the Irish market climbing to fifth position with 9,300 vehicles delivered to customers. The introduction of the new SCALA and the recent launch of the new ŠKODA KAMIQ provide us with an increased offering for our customers.” He added, “The industry is changing at a faster pace than ever before. Electrification, digitalisation and alternative mobility solutions will provide challenges and opportunities for our brand in the coming years.”