Attention Caroline Cody,

Please see below, there must be something else wrong with the Irish market to account for the 70% drop in sales in Q1 here. This is a serious issue and if something is not done about excessive taxation on new cars in Ireland, we will see the current sales levels continue for the foreseeable future. There has been a fundamental change to the car market in Ireland and this change has to be addressed. The government cannot rely on the revenue it generated from VRT to continue into the future if VRT remains unchanged. Please ensure that this message is received in your commission as the Government are not listening.

This reduction new car sales also gives you the best opportunity to replace VRT with a carbon tax based on usage. I believe that there is a sustainable new car market of 150,000 units per annum which should generate €800m in VRT annually. You should replace VRT with a carbon tax based on your cost neutral ambition. You can add €800m to the cost of fuel or develop some monthly electronic mileage charge. It can be publicized as replacing VRT, thereby guaranteeing steady and predictable income and eliminating the reliance on market fluctuations. There is absolutely no possibility of ever getting 150,000 unit sales in this market again, if VRT stays at its current levels. I know that studies have been completed by Goodbodys on predicting the future car market in Ireland and I have requested a copy which I will forward to you as soon as it becomes available.

Regards,

Denis

BELGIUM: European car sales down 17.2% in Q1

16 April 2009 | Source: just-auto.com editorial team

Figures released by the European vehicle makers' body ACEA show that first quarter car sales in Europe were down by 17.2% on the same period last year, although March saw some improvement due to scrappage incentives.

Declining for the eleventh consecutive month, passenger car registrations in Europe fell by 9% in March compared to the same month last year. The monthly result was lifted by the on average three more working days across the region and the effect of fleet renewal schemes in a number of countries.

Over the first quarter of 2009, the market was down by 17.2% with a total of 3,439,720 new registrations compared to 4,154,778 units in the same period last year.

Western Europe recorded 1,429,445 new passenger car registrations in March (-8.0%). The result was boosted by the 39.9% expansion of the German market, where consumers continued to respond widely to the government's incentive scheme introduced in January.

Such a development underpinned the markets in France (+8.0%) and Italy (+0.2%) as well. In the UK, where March is usually a strong month, registrations fell by 30.5%, reflecting the overall persisting lack of confidence in the economy. This sentiment also prevailed in Spain (-38.7%).

In the new EU Member States, 76,803 new cars were registered in March, or 25.4% less than last year. Poland and the Czech Republic, two of the major markets in the region, posted a growth of 2.5% and 0.9% respectively. Slovakia also recorded a strong increase of 18.2% following the introduction of a car scrapping scheme. Looking at the cumulative figures from January to March, Poland consolidated its position as the largest market with a total of 87,939 new registrations and a 1.3% upturn. Latvia performed worst with a contraction of 77.9%.

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