Sales of new vans in Ireland rose fractionally, by just 0.7 per cent, in January as the industry faced continuing product shortages thanks to the restriction in global microchip supplies. The chip crisis has been dogging the industry for more than a year now. It has seriously affected the supply of new vehicles, with the industry claiming that it has far more interest from consumers than vehicles to supply.
Opel’s van sales up by 98 per cent
Of those who could get a product out to customers, Ford topped the registration charts with 1,335 units sold in January, almost all of which were Transits, with a few Ranger pickups thrown in. In second place was Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, on 811 units with a mixture of Caddy, Crafter, and T6 Transporter. Opel was in third place, having made a remarkable 98 per cent increase in van sales compared to January last year. For comparison Ford’s sales were up by 15 per cent while VW’s rose by a still-impressive 52 per cent). All other brands in the top-ten selling list had seen their volumes fall, with the exception of LDV, which scored a 429 per cent rise, albeit from a low base of just 24 sales last January.
Opel’s big winner was the compact Combo van, with the larger Vivaro taking almost as many sales. Significantly, the battery-powered version of the Vivaro, the Vivaro-e, was the best-selling electric van in January, taking 32 per cent of all-electric van sales. The electric van segment is still relatively small and has actually fallen since last January, but it is expected to expand fast as new models enter the market.
More electric models on the way
James Brooks, Opel Ireland Managing Director, said: “This is a historic performance for Opel. Our national LCV market share has never been so high. Our rapid growth and strong sales performance this January comes on the back of an increasing appetite in Ireland for Opel light commercial vehicles, from both fleet companies and SMEs alike. We look forward to continued success in 2022, buoyed by the impending arrival of new models.”
He continued: “The new Vivaro-e, Ireland’s best-selling all-electric light commercial vehicle this year, will soon be joined by the new Combo-e and the new Movano-e. Armed with this new, fully electrified range, we are confident we will generate even further interest in the marketplace.”
Top ten new van listing
The full top-ten selling brands list was headed by Ford, Volkswagen, and Opel, followed by Citroen, Toyota, Peugeot, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, LDV, and Nissan.
The best-selling individual models were the Transit, followed by the Citroen Berlingo, Volkswagen Caddy, Peugeot Partner, Volkswagen Crafter, Opel Combo, Toyota Land Cruiser, Opel Vivaro, Volkswagen T6 Transporter, and LDV Maxus.