New car sales devastated by Covid arrival

The Covid-19 pandemic has seen the sales of new cars and used imports in Galway slump by almost 80% over the past three months.

The coronavirus has also impacted the commercial sector, with the sale of small goods vehicles down 75% and the number of new HGVs drop to just two.

Between the beginning of April and the end of June this year, just 100 new cars were registered in Galway City and county – a massive drop of almost 79% from the 470 registered in the same period last year.

In fact, April saw a virtual collapse of the market in Galway, with just seven new cars registered – down more than 97% from 264 in April of 2019.

Data from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) also shows that secondhand imports in the second quarter of this year were down 78% to 331 (from 1,525).

Looking at the first half of the year, new cars recorded a 25.4% slump from 29,41 to 2,194 when compared to the same period last year.

This category of vehicles is called ‘new passenger vehicles’ and include cars, jeeps, people carriers and caravans.

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