New car sales figures are up – both nationally and here in Laois; but how are the trends looking after the first quarter of 2024?
Across Ireland, new car sales went up 7.5% in the first three months of this year on the same period in 2023, while there has been a 14.5% increase in Laois.
All statistics are according to figures released by the Society for the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).
Kia are the most popular make of car sold here in Laois in the first three months of the year, followed by Skoda in second and Toyota in the third.
The list is an exact replica of the overall figures from 2023.
Nationally, Toyota are the most popular, followed by Skoda and Volkswagon, with Hyundai dropping out of the top three.
The Kia Sportage is the most popular model sold in Laois so far this year, followed by the Hyundai Tuscon – the same top two as last year – with the Skoda Octavia the third most popular.
The top two are flipped nationally with the Tuscon the top seller, as it was in 2023, followed by the Sportage, and the Toyota Corolla in third.
Medium SUVs and small SUVs are the most popular cars both in Laois and in Ireland as a whole.
As in 2023, diesel engines remain the top choice here in Laois, followed again by Petrol cars, while Petrol Electric Hybrids have replaced EVs (Electric Vehicles) in third.
The inverse is true nationally, with Petrol continuing to be the most popular followed by Diesel.
Just as it has in Laois, Petrol Electric Hybrids have replaced EVs in third place across Ireland.
Automatic cars are on course to once again be the most popular new cars sold nationally.
There were almost double the number of automatic cars sold than manuals in 2023 and that trend continued in the first quarter of 2024.
While automatic cars are more popular in Laois, the ratio between them and manual is minimal in the County compared to the national figures.
Laois figures align with national figures when it comes to car colour popularity, with grey cars the most widely sold, followed by black and then blue.
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