Car Sales

New car sales fall 26.5% on back of latest lockdown

By Michael J. Moody 3 weeks ago

New car sales were down 26.5 per cent over the first 10 days of this year, hit by Covid restrictions and delays due to the administration of new Brexit rules.

In what is traditionally the busiest sales month of the year, 9,765 new cars were registered in the Republic by January 10th, down 3,523 on the same period last year.

The latest Covid-19 lockdown means dealer showrooms are closed, with sales restricted to click-and-deliver operations, although servicing departments remain open. Most of the new cars registered would have been on order by customers from the end of last year.

On top of the Covid restrictions, increased administration due to Brexit has caused some delays in deliveries. In particular, dealers are reporting that parts supplies have been impacted, though many had built up stock levels prior to January 1st.

According to Robert Guy, director aftersales for Volkswagen Group Ireland, their planning

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Replica car sales will be legal in 2021

By Michael J. Moody 3 weeks ago

Replica fans rejoice! After five years of red tape, a new rule handed down from the U.S. Department of Transportation will make it legal to sell turn-key replica cars in the United States. The final rule was signed by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Deputy Administrator James Owens last week. 

Because kit cars have been sold here for decades, this may not seem like news, but the key differentiator here is that the new rule allows for the production and sale of complete, fully assembled replicas. Like the U.S. import law, it will only allow for the sale of vehicles at least 25 years old, and builders will still have to license the original designs from manufacturers, but this eases many restrictions on the production and sale of both aftermarket reproduction and factory “continuation” cars. 

“SEMA applauds NHTSA’s final rule allowing companies to market classic-themed cars,” said SEMA President

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European car sales suffer worst plunge ever in pandemic

By Michael J. Moody 3 weeks ago

European car sales plunged by nearly a quarter last year as the pandemic provoked the worst crisis ever to hit the capital-intensive industry

January 19, 2021, 9:23 AM

1 min read

MILAN — European car sales plunged by nearly a quarter last year as the pandemic provoked the worst crisis ever to hit the capital-intensive industry.

New car registrations sank by 23.7%, or 3 million vehicles, to 9.9 million units, according to new figures released Tuesday by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. It said lockdowns and other restrictions “had an unprecedented impact on car sales across Europe.”

All major markets recorded double-digit declines, down 32.3% in Spain, 28% in Italy and 25% in France. Germany suffered a more contained 19% drop.

December sales were just 3.3% lower than the previous year, but performance varied drastically between

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Car sales jump 13pc in 1HFY21 – Newspaper

By Michael J. Moody 3 weeks ago

KARACHI: Barring heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs), the entire auto sector gave a brisk performance during the first half of current fiscal year (1HFY21) on account of low interest rates and better farm incomes.

Buyers purchased more number of vehicles despite rising price trend in vehicles amid low cost of imports owing to a stronger rupee against the dollar from the last week of August 2020 — at Rs168 — compared to the current rate of Rs160 in the inter-bank market.

Car sales jumped by 13.4 per cent to 67,026 units followed by 134pc in jeeps, 32.4pc in light commercial vehicles (LCVs), 43pc in farm tractors and 19pc in two/three-wheelers.

According to the figures released by Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers (Pama), Honda Civic/City had left its rivals far behind by posting a sales jump of 73pc to 11,958. The second highest rise of 28pc was recorded in Suzuki Bolan with sales of

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