Ireland 1996: Opel and Ford Fiesta take the lead

Ford Fiesta

The Irish new car market shoots up a spectacular +32.5% year-on-year in 1996 to 115.121 units. Opel (+34.2%) manages to outpace the market to snap the brands pole position for the first time this decade off Ford (+21.8%) with Toyota (+7.7%) very shy at #3. Fiat (+112.8%), VW-Audi (+59.5%) and Rover (+42.7%) all beat the market in the remainder of the Top 10. Model-wise, the Ford Fiesta is the best-selling model in the country, toppling the Opel Astra with the Toyota Corolla closing up the podium. Two small cars models shoot up the ranking this year thanks to their recent facelift: the Opel Corsa is up to #4 and the VW Polo up to #5, just as the the Nissan Almera lands directly in 6th place and the Fiat Punto ranks #7.

Full Year 1996 Top 28 All-brands and Top 50 models below.