Galway Bay fm newsroom:
Car sales in Galway fell almost 20% in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2019.
New figures from The Society of the Irish Motor Industry show that close to 800 less cars have been sold in the city and county than the same time last year.
Between January and July 2020, 3,098 new car registrations were recorded, compared to 3,865 the previous year.
Nationally, New car sales are down almost 30 per cent this year compared to 2019.
While sales in Large Goods Vehicles and Heavy Goods Vehicles are down between 25 and 28 per cent.
Used car imports have also dropped by over a half on last year's figures.
There were 21,213 vehicles sold last month, which is nearly 3,500 fewer than July of last year.
The top-selling car brands are Volkswagen, Toyota, Hynudai, Skoda and Ford.
Director General of S.I.M.I, Brian Cooke says there needs to be a reduction in Vehicle Registration Tax to allow the car market to return to normal.
