Ireland January 2020: Toyota (+53.2%) eclipses Hyundai and Volkswagen in market down -3.5%

The new generation Corolla helps Toyota up to 13.8% share in Ireland.

Thanks to a bi-annual license plate system indicating the year of registration, January is traditionally the strongest month of the year in Ireland, accounting for roughly 30% of annual sales. 2020 starts with a decline at -3.5% year-on-year to 31.163 units. Diesel sales are down -17.8% to 13.120 and 42.1% share vs. 49.3% in January 2019, petrol sales drop -6.2% to 12.281 and 39.4% vs. 40.5% but hybrids soar 95.1% to 4.303 and 13.8% share vs. 6.8% a year ago, EVs are up 12.4% to 898 and 2.9% and PHEVs up 86.4% to 561 and 1.8% share.

One carmaker has a smile on its face: Toyota, up a fantastic 53.2% to 13.8% share vs. 10.8% for #2 Hyundai (-11.1%). Volkswagen (-0.5%), Skoda (-0.2%) are stable below but Ford (-25.5%), Nissan (-16.9%) and Peugeot (-12.5%) are in great difficulty below. Seat (+15.4%) is the only other Top 10 carmaker to post a double-digit gain this month. Further down, Citroen (+67.1%), Mercedes (+24.7%), Lexus (+20.3%) and BMW (+10.6%) impress, and among smaller brands Porsche (+1266.7%) and Tesla (+330.8%).

Model-wise, after snapping its first annual win in 15 years last year, the Toyota Corolla (+427.8%) confirms it is Ireland’s favourite with a 5.2% share in January vs. 3.8% over FY2019. The Hyundai Tucson (-16.3%) is knocked down to #2 with the Ford Focus (-0.7%) rounding out the podium. Outstanding performances of the Hyundai Kona (+48.6%) and Renault Clio (+28.7%) to close the Top 5, whereas just below the Nissan Qashqai (-25.9%), Toyota Yaris (-15.9%) and Skoda Octavia (-15.2%) struggle. The Nissan Juke (+319.2%), Skoda Kodiaq (+40.4%) and Toyota RAV4 (+38.9%) also impress in the Top 20, just as the VW T-Cross (#27) tops recent launches above the Skoda Scala (#47), Toyota Camry (#53), Mazda CX-30 (#63), Citroen C5 Aircross (#67) and Ford Puma (#79) new for the month.

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

One year ago: Ireland January 2019: Hyundai and Tucson lead, Skoda and Peugeot up in market down -12.9%

Full January 2020 Top 32 All-brands and Top 225 All-models below.