New car sales in Clare so far this year are 15 percent lower than at the same time in 2019.
It comes as the market has seen an increase on its 2020 sales in this county, with sales having been adversely affected by the pandemic.
1,334 new vehicles have been sold in this county in the first five months of 2021.
That’s a 16 percent increase on 2020’s figure, when outlets selling cars were closed for months at a time due to COVID-19 restrictions.
However, the market has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, with 1,583 cars having been sold in this county during the same timeframe in 2019.
Clare’s new car market has seen a steady drop in demand since its 2016 high of 2,287 vehicles being sold between January and May.
Even with the pandemic taken into account, 2021’s number of new vehicles sold so far is higher than both 2012 and 2013 when the country was still emerging from a significant recession.
The three most sold models in Clare so far this year are Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen, with Jaguar and Fiat yet to register a new car sale in this county so far this year.