Ireland March 2011: Ford Focus takes the lead

Another good month for Irish car sales, up 7% at 14,298 units. The (new generation) Ford Focus flamboyantly takes the lead of the ranking at 657 sales and 4.6% of Irish sales, up from #15 in February. After all, the Focus was the best selling car in the country 9 years in a row up until 2009, so it’s just business as usual in a way.

The VW Passat gains one more spot to rank 2nd at 610 sales (4.3%), just ahead of the VW Golf. Great performance for the Nissan Micra, up 20 spots to #8 at 482 sales and 3.4%. The Toyota Avensis falls to 9th but stays #1 year-to-date with 2,156 sales and 4.5%.

Full Top 30 Ranking Table: click on ‘Read more’ below the Nissan Micra pic.

Nissan Micra

Ireland February 2011: Avensis keeps the lead, Passat #3

Irish car sales are up again in February at +5% with 12,457 registrations. Excellent performance for the Toyota Avensis, # 1 in both January and February (most likely the two strongest months of the year), it now takes a strong option towards the 2011 Irish best-seller title. With 551 sales and 4.4% share in February it totals 1,714 units and 5.1% in 2011 to date.

The VW Golf stays strong at #2 (4.4% over 2011), the VW Passat jumps 7 spots to #3 (4.2%) and is now #4 in 2011 (3.3%). Renault places two models in the Top 5 this month: the Clio in 4th (3.8%) and the Fluence in 5th (3.7% and now 6th YTD). The Megane, #1 in 2011, is only 12th in February. Very strong month for the BMW 5 Series (#7 at 3.6%).

Full Top 30 Ranking Table below.

Ireland January 2011: Avensis, Golf & Corolla off to great start

January is a very important month for the Irish car market. It is traditionally the strongest month of the year by far and accounts for around 1/5 of the whole year’s sales, and at 20,979 registrations and up 30%, the year is off to an awesome start in Ireland!

Toyota delivers an outstanding performance at 17.5% share this month (it was #2 at 12.3% over 2010), and places the Avensis in the lead at 5.6%, the Corolla at #3 at 4.2%, the Yaris at #6 and the Auris at #7.

The VW Golf is #2 and the Renault Megane (#1 in 2010) is #9. Notice the 18th place of the Nissan Juke (1.7%). Full Top 30 Ranking Table below.

Ireland 2010: Renault Megane best seller, ahead of Golf & Focus

* I have come across conflicting figures between www.motorcheck.ie and www.beepbeep.ie which report the SIMI figures. I have decided to go with the latter as they are official figures from the Vehicle Registration Office.*

The Irish market is up 60% in 2010 at 86,770 sales, and for the first time in 10 years, the Ford Focus is not the best-selling car in Ireland. The Renault Megane delivers a breath-taking performance this year, going from #17 to best seller with 3,975 sales and 4.6% of the Irish market, up 354%. The VW Golf (3,947 sales and 4.5%) and Ford Focus (3,897 sales and 4.5%), #1 in 2009, complete the podium.

Other good 2010 performances include the Renault Clio, up 396% in 7th with 3,346 sales (3.9%), the VW Polo, up 153% in 10th and the Opel Astra, up 124% in 12th. The Renault Fluence is the best performing new model at #19 with 1,283 sales (1.5%).

Full Year 2010 Top 30 Ranking Table below.

Ireland November 2010: Megane #1, Golf #1 YTD

Tiny sales figure this month in Ireland: only 1,771 registrations (+104% year-on-year). The year-to-date figure is a more respectable 90,369, up 64%.

The Renault Megane leads the ranking in November with 114 sales and 6.4%, but the relevance of this figure is minimal given the size of the market this month. The year-to-date ranking is a much better indication of what Irish drivers are fond of. Three models are virtually at the same level: the VW Golf is #1 with 4,042 sales (4.5%), followed by the Megane at 3,993 (4.4%) and the Ford Focus at 3,982 (4.4%).

Full Top 20 Ranking table below.

Ireland October 2010: Fluence #1!

The Irish market follows a very particular pattern every year: it starts with all guns blazing in January (16,617 sales in 2010) and progressively dies away throughout the year (only 500 sales in Dec 09). Even if October 2010 is at +191% vs. Oct 09 it only totals 3,546 sales. Over 10 months, the market is up 63% vs. 2009 at 88,598 sales.

In this context, after a 1-2 in September (Megane/Clio), Renault scores an amazing 1-2-3 this month with the Fluence at 9.6%, the Megane at 8.3% and the Clio at 8.1%!

In the year-to-date rankings, the VW Golf edges to #1 thanks to a very weak month from the Ford Focus, and the Renault Megane grabs the 2nd spot at 3,879 sales, just one sale above the Focus. Three more cars are above 4% market share: the Ford Fiesta, the Toyota Avensis and the Nissan Qashqai.

Amazingly #1 in October, the Renault Fluence is still only 21st in the year-to-date ranking because its great performance occurred in a very weak month.

2010 year-to-date Top15 ranking below.

Ireland Full Year 2009: Focus #1 in market down 64%

In 2009 the Irish market was hit hard by the GFC: it is down 64% on 2008 at only 54,355 registrations. In this context, 27 out of the Top 30 best selling models see their sales drop.

The Ford Focus is the best selling car in Ireland for the 9th consecutive year at 2,949 sales, a drop of 59% over 2009 which is actually better than the market, resulting in an increased market share of 5.4%.

The Toyota Avensis is #2 anew with a strong 4.9% share, ahead of the VW Golf and Nissan Qashqai, both at 4.6%. The Ford Fiesta benefits from the arrival of the new generation to increase its sales by 1%, going from #15 to #5 at 4.6%. The only new entrant in the Top 10 is the Opel Insignia, #9 with 1,508 sales and 2.8%.

Full Top 30 Ranking Table below.

Ireland Full Year 2008: Focus, Corolla & Mondeo dominate

The Irish car market struggles in 2008, down 19% at 149,855 registrations. The Ford Focus conserves its pole position, but with 7,156 sales (4.8% share) it falls more than the market at -29%. The Toyota Corolla gains one spot at #2 with 6,791 sales (4.5%).

Very impressive jump for the Ford Mondeo, up 83% and going from #13 to #3 with 6,737 sales (4.5%). The VW Golf is stable at #4, followed by the Toyota Avensis and Opel Astra. Excellent performances of the Nissan Qashqai at #8 (+ 8 spots), the Nissan Tiida at #13 (+25 spots) and the Renault Laguna at #18 (+83 spots!).

Full Top 30 Ranking Table below.

Ireland Full Year 2007: Focus, Avensis & Corolla on podium

Solid car market in Ireland this year with 184,864 registrations. The Ford Focus, #1 for the 7th consecutive year, is above 10,000 sales at 10,101 and 5.5% of the market. Two Toyotas follow: the Avensis at #2 with 8,068 sales (4.4%) and the Corolla at #3 with 7,963 (4.3%).

The VW Golf takes the 4th place at 4.2% ahead of its big sister the Passat at 3.9%. Strong showings for the Opel Astra (#6) and Toyota Auris (#10). Notice also the 16th place of the Nissan Qashqai, the 20th position of the Hyundai Santa Fe, and the Nissan Note at #25.

Full Top 30 Ranking Table below.

Ireland 2000-2006: Ford Focus reigns

Launched in 1998, the Ford Focus established itself as the best-selling car in Ireland in 2000 and stayed on top for 6 consecutive years! Impressive success for a model that pushed design boundaries when it appeared on the car scene. Based on my observations during a trip to the country in 2001, the Nissan Almera should also rank quite high during the period.

Please do get in touch if you have detailed information about the Irish car market before 2006.

9 months 2006 Top 10 Ranking Table below.