Ireland April 2018: VW Polo up 3-fold to #1 in market up 3.3%

The VW Polo (+198%) is the #1 vehicle in Ireland in April. Picture completecar.ie

* See the Top 35 All-brands and Top 230 All-models by clicking on the title *

New car sales in Ireland post their first year-on-year gain of the year in April at +3.3% to 8.099 units, reducing the YTD drop to -4.7% at 79.894 registrations. Brand leader Volkswagen surges 49% to tighten its grip on the Irish market at 14.5% share this month vs. 10.9% YTD. Hyundai edges up just 1% year-on-year but that’s enough for the Korean marque to snap the 2nd place overall with 9.3% share, distancing Kia (8.1%), Skoda (8.1%) and Ford (7%). Peugeot (+57%), Audi (+32%) and Nissan (+22%) are the other Top 10 carmakers sporting a double-digit gain this month, while Toyota (-45%) is going the other way with a steep decline. Further down, Mercedes (+66%), Seat (+60%), BMW (+58%), Mini (+50%), Lexus (+47%), Jaguar (+29%) and Dacia (+27%) are among the best performers.

The VW Polo is up 3-fold year-on-year to shoot up to pole position with 3.5% share but only ranks #14 YTD. It distances the Kia Sportage (-8%), Skoda Octavia (-20%), VW Golf (+5%) and Hyundai Tucson (-26%). Meanwhile in the remainder of the Top 10 the Peugeot 3008 (+78%), VW Tiguan (+51%), VW Passat (+49%) and Dacia Sandero (+20%) all post spectacular gains. The Hyundai Kona leads all recent launches (<12 months) at a record #11 (+5 on March) ahead of the Skoda Karoq at #19 (+9), Kia Stonic at #22 (+22) and VW T-Roc at #23 (+11).

Previous month: Ireland March 2018: Nissan Qashqai snaps YTD lead in market down 10.7%

Previous year: Ireland Full Year 2017: Volkswagen back to #1, Hyundai Tucson repeats

Full April 2018 Top 35 All-brands and Top 230 All-models below.