PRESS RELEASE

Vehicle history and data expert CARTELL.IE reports today (October 24th) on the profile of vehicles being imported into Ireland in 2018 and reports that Irish buyers are importing diesel vehicles in significant numbers.

Cartell.ie tracked the imported fleet in 2018 (all vehicles) between January 1^st and September 30^th (3 quarters) and found that the vast majority (76%) of vehicles currently imported into Ireland are diesel aspirated.  There has also been a significant jump in the numbers of Petrol/Electric Vehicles (+193%) and Electric Vehicles (+148%) over the past 12 months indicating these vehicles are finding their feet in the Irish market.

Graph 1: 2018 (Jan to Sep) Imports by Fuel Type (All vehicles) (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Table 1: 2018 and 2017 (Jan to Sep) Imports by Fuel Type (All vehicles) (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Year of Sale/Fuel Type	DIESEL	PETROL	PETROL/ELECTRIC	ELECTRIC	PETROL/PLUG-IN HYBRID ELECTRIC
2018	74042	17207	3502	529	803
2017	71483	16181	1810	357	130

 

Makes and Models Imported

In terms of the manufacturer breakdown Ford returns the most numbers of vehicles (all types) imported in 2018. Ford is followed by Volkswagen and Audi with Toyota occupying fourth positon.

Table 2: 2018 (Jan to Sep) Imports by Manufacturer (All vehicles) (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Year of Sale/Manufacturer	FORD	VW	AUDI	TOYOTA	BMW	HYUNDAI	MERCEDES BENZ
2018	11990	10583	6662	6578	6202	5406	5254

The most popular model imported year-to-date is the VW Golf ahead of the Ford Focus.

Table 3: 2018 (Jan to Sep) Imports by Model (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Year of Sale/Model	GOLF	FOCUS	QASHQAI	PASSAT	520
2018	4356	4124	2459	2409	2254

 

Registration Year Imported and Segment

In 2018 the most popular year of import is a 4 year-old-vehicle (2014) neck and neck with a three-year-old vehicle (2015). These ages were also the most popular in 2017 although a three-year-old vehicle was more popular that year.  The most popular vehicle segment for imports is the C segment followed by the D segment – the same as for 2017.

Table 4: 2018 (Jan to Sep) Imports by Registration Year (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Year of Sale/Registration Year	2014	2015	2013	2016	2012	2017	2011
2018	17427	17418	11373	9215	8458	6901	6243

Table 5: 2018 (Jan to Sep) Imports by Segment (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Year of Sale/Segment	C	D	C-SUV	B	E PREMIUM	D PREMIUM
2018	18523	9012	7967	7551	6868	6313

John Byrne, General Counsel, Cartell.ie says:

This snapshot of the Irish market shows the Irish buyer is especially keen to import a diesel vehicle, usually a three or four-year-old and often a Focus, Golf, or Qashqai – models which have been consistently popular in the domestic market. The jump in the numbers of Electric Vehicles and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles being imported shows that buyers of those types of vehicles can see the value of importing and also points to a growth in the market for those vehicle types. Overall we would see imports remaining strong until at least the due date for Brexit in March 2019.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

Graph 2: 2017 (Jan to Sep) Imports by Fuel Type (All vehicles) (Source: Cartell Carstat)

 

Table 6: 2017 (Jan to Sep) Imports by Manufacturer (All vehicles) (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Year of Sale/Manufacturer	FORD	VW	TOYOTA	AUDI	VAUXHALL	BMW	HYUNDAI
2017	12645	10432	6408	6167	5199	4627	4378

Table 7: 2017 (Jan to Sep) Imports by Model (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Year of Sale/Model	FOCUS	GOLF	PASSAT	A4	520
2017	4918	4328	2523	2248	1626

Table 8: 2017 (Jan to Sep) Imports by Registration Year (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Year of Sale/Registration Year	2014	2013	2012	2011	2015	2010	2016	2009
2017	15884	14649	10741	8322	7982	6770	5888	4918

Table 9: 2017 (Jan to Sep) Imports by Segment (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Year of Sale/Segment	C	D	B	COMMERCIAL-LCV	D PREMIUM	E PREMIUM
2017	19358	9478	7913	6606	5617	5541

 

For further information please contact John Byrne on 087 4199018 or at john at cartell.ie or check out www.cartell.ie  for further information.

Cartell.ie was set up in 2006 to help buyers make an informed choice when buying a used vehicle – including imported vehicles – by providing a user-friendly and cost-effective vehicle data checking service. Cartell.ie is a totally independent company and fully Irish owned.