Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen and most popular new cars in 2009

Part of the fun of buying a new car is to get noticed on the roads – having a 2009 number plate, or the latest model of your dream car.

Another way to get noticed, apart from the finish and colour and extra features, is what make of new car you actually decide to buy. Will you stick to your
local car dealer, buy the latest model of the car you’ve driven for the last 10 years, will you read car reviews avidly, or just decide to buy a popular make of car?

A definite way to make heads turn is to buy a new car that very few people are driving.

According to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office, 5 brands of car dominated new cars sales in Ireland in the first 6 months of 2009 – Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen, Nissan and Opel.

These 5 motoring giants accounted for 57% of all new private cars licensed in Ireland between January and the end of June 2009.

Two in 7 drivers of new cars in Ireland in 2009 are driving either a Toyota (15.4%) or a Ford (14.5%). 11% of newly-licensed cars over the first half of 2009 were Volkswagens, while 9.4% were Nissans. Just 6.7% of people buying a new car in 2009 bought an Opel.

The statistics, issued on a monthly basis, throw up some interesting facts.

The most popular new cars overall to drive in the first half of this year were:
1. Toyota 6. Renault
2. Ford 7. Audi
3. Volkswagen 8. Skoda
4. Nissan 9. Peugeot
5. Opel 10. Kia

While the top 5 cars to drive in Ireland have stayed the same every month, numbers 6 to 10 have varied.

The top 10 most popular car makes in June 2009 were:
1. Ford, 6. Audi
2. Volkswagen 7. Hyundai
3. Toyota 8. Skoda
4. Nissan 9. Peugeot
5. Opel 10. Mercedes Benz

The most popular new cars that people rushed out to buy or had pre-ordered at the beginning of the year were:

1. Ford 6. Renault
2. Toyota 7. Skoda
3. Nissan 8. Audi
4. Volkswagen 9. Peugeot
5. Opel 10. Honda

The Central Statistics Office’s new private car figures list approximately 40 models, with the about 1% categorised under ‘other makes’.

It’s quite clear from the statistics, which cover the first half of the year, there just a handful of certain car models were purchased new in 2009. There are a mere 2 2009-registered Smart cars on Irish roads, 9 Porches, 10 Jeeps, 14 Ssangyongs, 26 Vauxhalls, 31 Chryslers, 35 Dodges, 62 Daihatsu cars, 81 Saabs and 107 Land Rovers.

So, if you’re looking for a new car and don’t want to have difficulty finding yours in the car park, work down through the following list in order:
Smart, Porsche, Jeep, Ssangyong, Vauxhall, Chrysler, Dodge, Daihatsu,
Saab, Land Rover, Alfa Romeo, Jaguar, Lexus, Subaru, Mini, Chevrolet, Mitsubishi, Volvo, Suzuki, Seat, Citroen, Fiat, Honda, Mercedes Benz, Mazda, BMW, Hyundai, Kia, Peugeot, Skoda, Audi, Renault, Opel, Nissan, Volkswagen, Ford, Toyota.

See Carlot.ie for a list of car dealers where you can buy your new car, whatever you decide on.