Top 10: Irish car sales 2017

131,335 new cars were registered in Ireland during 2017, according to statistics released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry. That total represented a reduction of just over ten percent compared to 2016.

While many other countries are experiencing a dramatic move away from diesel engines, plenty of Irish buyers are refusing to follow the trend.

Admittedly, diesel’s share fell from 70.1% to 65.2%, but it’s undoubtedly still the most favoured fuel type. Significantly, ‘alternative’ vehicles (i.e. pure electrics and hybrids) experienced the highest growth rate, accounting for 4.1% of all deliveries.

Irish Car Registrations 2017 - By Fuel Type
Fuel 2017 2016 +/- % +/-
Diesel 85,664 102,748 -17,084 -16.6%
Petrol 40,288 40,641 -353 -0.9%
Alternative 5,383 3,260 +2,123 +65.1%
Total 131,335 146,649 -15,314 -10.4%
Figures provided by SIMI Motorstats

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the manufacturers listed in the top ten table are unchanged from 2016. Nevertheless, there were some notable position changes.

After dropping to third last year, Volkswagen regained first place. Its market share remained unchanged at 10.5%, though.

Volkswagen Golf GTE Advance (2017) Side
The Golf constituted one third of all Volkswagen
registrations in Ireland during 2017.

Toyota slipped from leader to runner-up thanks to major declines across most models. Indeed, if the C-HR hadn’t achieved 1,965 registrations in 2017 (up from 229 in its launch year), then the brand’s overall performance would have been much worse.

Hyundai posted one of the largest individual slumps, consequently falling from second to fourth. Almost three quarters of that decrease were due to fewer Tucson customers.

Every marque in the top ten except Kia shifted a smaller volume in 2017. However, a few others lower down the league managed to do the opposite. Eleventh-placed Mercedes-Benz, for example, realised a 27.6% increase (helped by 1,600 additional E-Class sales), ending the year at 4,838 registrations. Similarly, Seat did 3,301 units, an 18.3% uplift.

Top 10: Irish Car Registrations 2017 - By Manufacturer
Position Manufacturer 2017 2016 +/- % +/-
1 Volkswagen 13,830 15,411 -1,581 -10.3%
2 Toyota 12,684 15,530 -2,846 -18.3%
3 Ford 12,243 14,666 -2,423 -16.5%
4 Hyundai 11,917 15,442 -3,525 -22.8%
5 Nissan 10,348 11,878 -1,530 -12.9%
6 Škoda 9,030 9,447 -417 -4.4%
7 Renault 8,328 8,379 -51 -0.6%
8 Kia 7,132 6,710 +422 +6.3%
9 Opel 6,526 7,888 -1,362 -17.3%
10 Audi 5,544 6,066 -522 -8.6%
Figures provided by SIMI Motorstats

Despite a substantial absolute reduction, the aforementioned Hyundai Tucson remained Ireland’s most popular car (although only just). Volkswagen’s Golf was still second, but the Ford Focus descended from third to fifth.

Diminished Toyota Yaris and Corolla sales were primarily responsible for the Kia Sportage rising up from tenth to seventh spot. A new entry on the table was the Volkswagen Tiguan, which forced out the Passat.

Combined, the top ten models generated 36,086 registrations, or 27.5% of the entire market.

Top 10: Irish Car Registrations 2017 - By Model
Position Model 2017 2016 +/- % +/-
1 Hyundai Tucson 4,893 7,425 -2,532 -34.1%
2 Volkswagen Golf 4,733 5,464 -731 -13.4%
3 Nissan Qashqai 4,196 4,591 -395 -8.6%
4 Škoda Octavia 3,980 4,660 -680 -14.6%
5 Ford Focus 3,850 4,835 -985 -20.4%
6 Ford Fiesta 3,217 3,827 -610 -15.9%
7 Kia Sportage 3,066 2,871 +195 +6.8%
8 Toyota Yaris 2,881 3,727 -846 -22.7%
9 Toyota Corolla 2,790 3,751 -961 -25.6%
10 Volkswagen Tiguan 2,480 1,632 +848 +52.0%
Figures provided by SIMI Motorstats

Related posts:
Top 10: Irish car sales 2016
Top 10: Irish car sales 2015

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