Cork, 4 March, 2008 – Ford was the best-selling vehicle brand in Ireland for the second month in a row in February, according to figures released today by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI).

While the vehicle market dipped 9.4% in the same month last year, Ford registered a rise in sales of 8.6%. Total industry sales year-to-date, at 86,718 units, are 3.3% down on 2007.

 

Car registrations fell 9.3% in February, with Toyota (3,405 or 14.1%) ahead of Ford (3,014 or 12.5%) and VW (2,976 or 12.3%).

 

Commercial vehicle sales were also down, by 9.9% to 5,588 units. Ford was the leading brand with a 19.2% share (1,071 units), followed by VW (833) and Toyota (647).

 

	Car	(%)	Commercials	(%)	Combined	(%)
Ford	3,014	12.5%	1,071	19.2%	4,097	13.8%
Toyota	3,405	14.1%	647	11.6%	4,052	13.6%
VW	2,976	12.3%	833	14.9%	3,809	12.8%
Nissan	1,810	7.5%	408	7.3%	2,218	7.5%
GM	1,922	8.0%	253	4.5%	2,175	7.3%
Overall	24,119		5,588		29,707

 

“Ford bucked the downward trend with an 18% rise in car unit sales in February,“ commented Eddie Murphy, Chairman and Managing Director of Ford Ireland. “It’s very pleasing to post such a strong increase in what’s proving to be a very demanding retail environment.

 

“We welcomed the new Focus to dealer showrooms in February and expect the new arrival, alongside the best-selling Mondeo, to help maintain Ford’s momentum in March.”