Posted online: Feb 8th, 2010

Donegal car dealers have enjoyed their best January in years with sales for last month in many cases matching those for the whole of 2009.
With dealerships offering thousands of euro off the price of a new car on top of the new Government scrappage scheme of €1,500 on those over ten years old, it seems consumer confidence is on the increase.
Official figures released by the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that new cars registered for January this year are up over 5% on last the same month in 2010.
The new Renault Megane 1.5L diesel is the county’s top selling car this year so far and Pauric Kelly, Sales Manager of Highland Motors in Letterkenny which stock the French brand is optimistic on the year ahead.
“The scrappage deal has been a major help although Renault has had its own in operation from as far back as October. We are offering up to €6,500 off the price of a new car which is massive. Added to that consumer confidence is getting stronger especially since there are such good deals to be had.”
Indeed, the first month of 2010 has proved so successful that dealerships are now faced with a shortage of cars to meet the growing demand.
“We are now running out of cars as not enough were ordered to meet the high demand,” says Terrance Diver of Divers Garage on Letterkenny’s Canal Road, stockists of the Hyundai range.
Hyundai’s new i20 five door is another popular choice among new car buyers this year with the manufacturer offering up to €5,000 off the original price.
“We have done very well last month and things look good for February. The scrappage scheme represents around 40% of our sales so far. 2010 looks to be a better year and the recession appears to be over for the car market anyway.”