Fresh car sales in Northern Ireland drop two per cent on a year ago
Fresh car sales in Northern Ireland fell by almost two per cent in June compared to the same month last year, according to industry figures.
Some Five,938 cars were registered in the region last month, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said. That compares with 6,057 in 2015.
But in the year as a entire, car sales in Northern Ireland are ahead of where they were after six months of 2015, with 33,969 fresh models having drive from showrooms (it was 33,409 this time last year).
In the UK as a entire, some 255,766 cars were registered last month, down 0.8 per cent on a year ago.
Request for diesel cars fell by Two.1 per cent, while petrol models spotted a decline of 0.Five per cent.
The SMMT said the figures were in line with expectations that the market would “stabilise” following a record two thousand fifteen and it was too early to tell if the EU referendum has affected sales.
In June the Four.Five per cent decrease in private fresh car registrations was compensated by an increase of the same percentage for fleet buyers.
Business customers made up less than four per cent of the market after falling by twenty five per cent.
SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes noted that request for fresh cars in the very first half of the year overall grew by Three.Two per cent to a record 1,420,636 registrations.
He said: “It is far too soon to determine whether the referendum result has had an influence on the fresh car market.
“The very first six months witnessed strong request at record levels but the market undoubtedly cooled over the 2nd quarter.
“It’s significant government takes every measure to restore business and economic confidence to avoid the market contracting in the coming months.”
Volkswagen car sales spotted an Eighteen.9 per cent slide in June as the German manufacturer continued to suffer as a result of the diesel emissions scandal.
The brand had Nineteen,196 registrations compared with 23,670 in the same month last year.
Its year-to-date sales for two thousand sixteen are 8.7 per cent down on the same point in 2015.
Volkswagen Group admitted last September that 482,000 of its diesel vehicles in the US were fitted with defeat device software to switch engines to a cleaner mode when they were being tested for emissions.
The Wolfsburg-based company announced that eleven million vehicles were affected worldwide – including almost 1.Two million in the UK.
Other VW brands had mixed results in June.
Year-on-year sales for Audi were up Three.Four per cent and Skoda rose by 11.1 per cent, but Seat registrations were down 15.9 per cent.
:: Top-selling cars in Northern Ireland (Jan-Jun 2016):