Number plate revamp comes into effect

FROM this week, all new cars bought in Clare will have a new number plate. Instead of 13-CE the new number plate will be 131-CE.
Alan Nolan, director general of the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) said, “While it is too early to tell how new car sales are doing, given that it is only the first day of sales, there certainly has been a lot of interest from the public in the new number plate. Only time will tell what impact the new plate might have on sales but we expect demand to increase when we begin to see new cars on the road.”
This new plate format will be in place each year from now on.
SIMI has also just released new car sales figures for 2012. New car sales are down 12% on 2011 at 79,498.
“This figure is very much in line with our predictions,” Mr Nolan stated.
December new car sales are down 15% on December 2011.
“In 2011 customers were incentivised to purchase their new car in December in order to avail of the lower VAT rate but VAT was increased in the last Budget, so this would certainly have impacted on the reduction in sales in December,” he added.
“The motor industry is often used as a barometer for the economy and we hope, with consumer confidence seeing some slight pick up of late, combined with the new number plate, that interest will grow in the coming weeks.”
According to SIMI statistics, Volkswagen was the best selling car brand in 2012 followed by Toyota and Ford. The Ford Focus was the best selling model of 2012 followed by the Volkswagen Golf and the Nissan Qashqai.
Up to 92% of cars sold last year were in the two lowest CO2 emission categories, 2% more than in 2011. Nearly one quarter of cars sold in 2012 were petrol with 74% diesel.
The figures show that silver was the most popular car colour in 2012.