DUBLIN: Secondhand car imports into Ireland soared by 93.8% in November when compared with the same month last year, according to latest figures from the Central Statistics Office. 7,571 used imported cars were licensed during the month, up from 3,906 in November 2015.
The vast majority of imported secondhand cars come from the UK, with 97% of all used imports last year coming from that country. The near 20% drop in the value of sterling against the euro in the aftermath of the UK’s vote to leave the European Union in June is considered to be a significant factor in the rise in the level of vehicle imports into Ireland.
The euro was valued at £0.7649 the day before the Brexit vote, however, jumped to £0.8340 within days – before hitting a peak 2016 value of £0.9119 on 11 October.
With 1,086 imports, Volkswagen was the most popular make of secondhand car to be imported into Ireland last month, followed by Ford (987), and Audi (693).
For the first 11 months of the year, the number of used imported private cars licensed here increased by 43.1% to 63,024, when compared with the same period in 2015. The CSO figures also show 1,896 new private cars were licensed for the first time in November, an increase of 1.2% on the same period last year.
In the year to November 141,996 new private cars were licensed, a rise of 18.1% on November 2015.
