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The Army was the largest single buyer of new cars in April, as sales collapsed 96 percent. Total new car sales were just 344 last month, with the delivery of 25 new SUVs to the Army, part of a broader contract, making the Toyota Land Cruiser the best-selling vehicle in April.
With travel restrictions in place due to the Covid-19 crash, no new rental cars were registered last month, typically a lucrative sales market for the car trade at this time of year. Last April, 2,725 new cars were registered as rental units, representing 30.6 percent of sales that month.
So far this year, new car sales are down 30.7 percent to 50,626, and top industry executives suggest this year’s drop could be as much as 60 percent by year-end.
The size of the dealerships and the average footfalls, both for sales and for services, lend themselves to social distancing.
While there is hope that car dealerships will be among the first wave of business to reopen, government support and incentives have been called for to help boost sales.
Brian Cooke, CEO of SIMI, said: “Like many other sectors of the economy, Covid-19 is having a devastating impact on the Irish automotive industry. SIMI members have been available during the shutdown to date to assist in emergencies and essential calls. We continue to play our part in keeping vital goods and services moving.
“Inactivity”
“However, the registration numbers underscore the lack of activity in the sale of new vehicles, and this is replicated for used cars and service. While the short-term outlook for the Irish economy is bleak, once the health situation allows, the motor industry is ready to go back to work.
“Members have used this downtime to implement measures, in accordance with industry and state guidelines, that will protect both their employees and their customers from the spread of Covid-19. The size of the dealerships and the average footfalls, both for sales and services, lend themselves to social distancing, while the sanitation measures implemented for both premises and vehicles mean that safety and protection are at the top of the agenda.
As the July registration period approaches, the motor industry will be well positioned to help kick-start activity in the Irish economy. This has the potential to protect the nearly 50,000 people working in the sector, increasing government revenue, improving car safety on Irish roads, while improving Ireland’s environmental performance by replacing old cars with cars. new or new. “
Financial collapse
Earlier this week, Paddy Magee, Renault’s director of country operations, said that, unlike other sectors of the economy, the motor industry had never fully recovered from the 2008-09 financial collapse. He warned that this latest crisis will cause job losses and closings.
“Our industry never fully recovered from that hit and now we are facing another equally serious crisis,” he said. Magee called for a two-month cut to be introduced into VRT in line with the new enrollment period 202 beginning July 1 to support jobs, help replace the oldest and most polluting cars in the national fleet, and protect revenue. Government prosecutors.
Car dealerships are closed apart from appointments for urgent repairs. Mr. Magee said service operations were likely to resume in line with the reopening of the National Car Test centers.
However, due to their spacious showroom layouts and dating systems, dealerships are well suited to implement social distancing and should therefore be part of the initial wave of business that they are allowed to reopen. In Germany, car dealers were able to reopen last Monday.
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