Ireland Full Year 2019: Toyota Corolla grabs first win in 15 years in third straight market decline (-6.7%)

The Toyota Corolla is the best-selling vehicle in Ireland in 2019.

Consult over 45 years of Irish Historical Data here.

New car sales in Ireland endure a third straight year of decline in 2019 at -6.7% year-on-year to 117.100 units, the lowest annual result since 2014 (96.338). The Top 4 brands remain unchanged on 2018, led by Volkswagen (-1.9%), Toyota (+0.7%) and Hyundai (-5%) all outpacing the market whereas Ford (-14.7%) struggles. Only Skoda (+2%) and Peugeot (+0.7%) manage to gain meagre ground in the remainder of the Top 10 just as Nissan (-15.4%), Kia (-11.9%) and Renault (-8.7%) skid down and Audi (-6.9%) matches the market. Further down, DS (+171.4%), Tesla (+125%), Jeep (+25%), Mitsubishi (+18.5%), Bentley (+16.7%), Land Rover (+11%) and Seat (+10.8%) are the only brands managing a double-digit gain in the entire market.

For the first time since 2016 the most popular model in Ireland changes: it is now the Toyota Corolla (+121.6%) fully benefiting from the blending of its hatch variant into the Corolla name and up 14 spots on 2018 to #1. It is the first time since 2004 that the Corolla is the best-seller in Ireland and only the second time in the past 30 years that a Japanese nameplate is #1. According to our available records this is only the second time the Corolla ever takes the annual lead here, however we are missing annual figures for the 1986-1997 period and it is entirely possible the Corolla also led at some point then. Leader of the past 3 years, the Hyundai Tucson (-4.9%) drops to #2 while the Nissan Qashqai (-6.4%) is all down one spot to #3.

The VW Tiguan (+11.3%) surges 3 ranks to make it 3 SUVs in the Top 4, with the Hyundai Kona (+50.3%) easily breaking into the annual Top 10 at #7.  The Skoda Kodiaq (+73.4%) at #17, VW T-Roc (+37.9%) at #22, Opel Corsa (+23.9%) at #28 and Seat Arona (+28.4%) at #31 also make themselves noticed. The VW T-Cross (#67) is the most popular 2019 launch above the Toyota Camry (#75), Seat Tarraco (#82), Peugeot Rifter (#107) and Tesla Model 3 (#119) which lurches to the overall pole position in November, albeit in a traditionally depleted market as the end of the year comes by.

Previous month: Ireland November 2019: Tesla Model 3 storms into top spot in reduced market

Previous year: Ireland 2018: Hyundai Tucson snaps last minute third crown in a row

Two years ago: Ireland 2017: Volkswagen back to #1, Hyundai Tucson repeats

Full Year 2019 Top 35 All-brands and Top 290 All-models vs. Full Year 2018 figures below.