Offaly new car buys bucks national trend

Though new car buys are on the rise nationally according to figures released this week by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the opposite is true in Offaly and the greater midlands. While there has been a 10.2 per cent increase countrywide in the number of new cars licenced for the first time in October 2012 compared to the same month one year previous, Offaly has seen a year on year drop of 38 per cent. That drop is more than matched in fellow midland counties Laois and Longford, where year on year drops of 62 per cent and 40 per cent respectively have been recorded. According to the figures a total of 2,442 new cars were licenced for the first time all over Ireland in October 2012. That's compared to a total of 2,216 licenced for the first time in October 2011. However the story is markedly different in the middle of the country. If October 2011 a total of 26 new cars were licenced for the first time in Offaly. In October 2012 the corresponding figure was just 16 however. Laois saw a year on year drop from 45 to 17, while Longford experienced a drop from 25 to just 15. Only Westmeath in the midlands shows a greater number of new cars licenced for the first time in October 2012 than October 2011. However that rise is only slight, with 46 new cars licenced for the first time in Westmeath in October 2011 and 48 in October 2012. The same data reveals that the most popular car brand in the country at the moment - and back in October 2011 - is Volkswagen. That's reflected in Westmeath, while in Longford Volkswagen and Toyota are equally popular. In Laois the popular choice in October 2012 was Renault, while in Offaly that honour went to Kia.