Number of new cars registered in Louth falls

New car registrations for Louth have have fallen for the first five months of 2017, compared to the same timeframe last year.

That's according to the latest figures for the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI), which were released today, Thursday.

Their statistics show that some 1,896 vehicles were registered in Louth between January and May 2017, a drop of almost 16% on last year's figure for the same five months (2,257).

Some 2.11% of all new cars registered in the State this year have been registered in Louth.

Nationwide, new car registrations were down -8% (5,991) in May, compared to 6,449 in May 2016.

New car registrations for the year to date are down 10% on the same period last year.

Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) show a decrease of 19% (1,461) on May 2016 (1,819) and, year to date, are down -14% (15,098).

Heavy Commercial Vehicles (HGVs) are also showing a decline of 15% for the month of May (259) compared to the same month last year (306) and are down -9% (1,524) year to date.

Commenting on the figures SIMI Director General, Alan Nolan said: “With the first five months of the year now behind us, the decline in registrations across all sectors has been a noticeable trend reflecting the unpredictable nature of the market at present.

“As we near the end of the 171 registration period, there will undoubtedly be incentives to purchase a new car before the end of June.

“Notwithstanding this, the industry and consumers are turning their focus to the second registration plate, which since its introduction has seen the proportion of the full year market occurring in the second half of the year increasing significantly. This year we will again see each brand offer innovative packages to encourage the purchase of new 172 cars.”