191 CV registrations further dampened by Brexit

The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) has issued the official 191 new commercial vehicle registration figures for January.

Light Commercials which are down 16.3 per cent (5,650) compared to January last year (6,753), and HGV (Heavy Goods Vehicle) registrations are also down 11.4 per cent (356) in comparison to January 2018 (402).

Sterling weakness and Brexit related uncertainty were the key drivers in 2018 and have continued to be a characteristic of January 2019. The dampening of new sales volumes has affected the commercial sector and until March 29, this deep uncertainty will continued.

Brian Cooke, Director General Designate, SIMI commented: “New Vehicle Registrations in January are clearly disappointing but not surprising. With Brexit fast approaching adding to business uncertainty, the weakness of Sterling is continuing to drive down used car values which is increasing the cost to change. While we hope the EU and UK’s negotiations result in agreement that allows for free trade, the likelihood of no deal is increasing by the day.”

He added: “While the Industry is ramping up its preparations for a no deal Brexit, in the context of the potential impact on a sector whose activity will be in the region of €5billion between now and the end of the year, it is crucial that the State fully clarifies the trading conditions in the event of no agreement being reached. This is an immediate issue as we may be only eight weeks away from a no deal outcome. More positively the increase in EV sales in the second half of last year has further accelerated into January, with the total EV registrations of 811 representing nearly two-thirds of EV sales for the whole of last year.”