Ireland April 2020: Army Toyota Land Cruiser best-seller in market down -96.1%

25 Army registrations are  enough to push the Toyota Land Cruiser to #1.

Ireland was under a COVID-19 lockdown for the entire month of April, and as a result new car sales implode -96.1% year-on-year to just 344 units, pulling the year-to-date tally down -30.7% to 50.626. If similar year-on-year falls mean lowest April volumes in decades for most other European markets (lowest in 70 years in France), in Ireland this equates to the lowest monthly volume since… last December when just 224 units were sold. Indeed the bi-annual licence plate system in place in the country traditionally discourages new car sales at the end of each year.

Toyota (-95.4%) returns to the brands top spot it holds YTD with 17.4% share, distancing Hyundai (-92.5%) and Renault (-90.3%), the latter up 13 spots on March to #3. Tesla (+16.7%) manages the only year-on-year gain in market and shoots up 7 spots on last month to #8, while Volvo (-88.1%) is up 11 to #7. Ssangyong (-50%) goes from 2 sales in April 2019 to one in April 2019, and Land Rover (-93.5%) and Mercedes (-94.3%) also “outpace” the market while all other carmakers lose over 95% year-on-year.

The best-selling model in Ireland this month is an interesting story: the Toyota Land Cruiser has its first 25 registrations of the year, all part of a larger contract to the Army. Only 7 cars sells in the double-digits this month, with the Hyundai Tucson (-91%), Kona (-94%), Renault Kadjar (-61.5%) and Tesla Model 3 completing the Top 5. With travel restrictions in place, there were no new rental car registrations for April vs. 2.725 in April 2019 or 30.6% of that month’s sales.

Previous month: Ireland March 2020: Peugeot (-37.4%), BMW (-46.7%) “resist” in market down -63%

One year ago: Ireland April 2019: New Corolla, Camry lift Toyota up 192.4% to #1 in first market uptick this year

Full April 2020 Top 30 All-brands and Top 230 All-models below.