No January car boom in Westmeath with just 76 registered

Just 76 cars with the 2010 registration are motoring around the roads of Westmeath despite the introduction of a new Government scrappage scheme in last December's budget. Latest figures from the Revenue Commissioners show only 76 new cars were registered throughout the Lake county in the first ten days of the year, the second highest in the midlands but a far cry from the new car sales record high of 2008, when 408 were registered in the county over the same period in that year. The statistics prove worrying reading for the motor trade in Ireland, who hoped the scrappage scheme would boost sales at the beginning of the year. However, industry sources believe the rest of January may turn out better for new car purchases as the cold snap kept many people away from car showrooms immediately after Christmas, the traditional time to buy a new car. It's thought an additional factor could be the fact drivers cannot avail of the scrappage scheme until the date their current car is ten years registered. The figures also show there were only 43 new cars officially registered in Roscommon in the first ten days of 2010, with another 11 used cars bought in the county over that time and 20 second-hand vehicles in Westmeath.The new statistics from the State tax body also reveal there were only 4,521 new cars in total notified to them since the beginning of 2010, with used cars in the same category only hitting a paltry 729 nationwide. New cars in Dublin accounted for the largest share of new car total since January 1 at 28% or 1,267, Cork is next with 654 and Kildare in third place with 190. The county with the lowest number of new vehicles on the highways and byways of Ireland was in Leitrim with just 19. Used car sales hit just 729 around the country between January 1 and 10 according to the Revenue Commissioners figures, with Dublin unsurprisingly the highest at 161, but at the other end of the scale entirely was Limerick with one single used car registered in the city and county since the beginning of the year.Separate research by the CSO showed the fall-off in 2010 continues the trends of the year before as the number of new private cars licensed for the first time fell 28.9 per cent in December 2009, leading to a total fall of almost 63 per cent for the entire twelve month period. Only 474 were registered during December nationwide, compared with 667 in December 2008. In total, the figures were down 62.8 per cent compared with 2008, with 54,432 new private vehicles licensed for the first time during 2009, compared to 146,470 the year before.