For nearly 19 years, Cartell.ie has been at the forefront of vehicle history reporting, equipping consumers with essential data to make informed decisions. The company has long advocated for enhanced data sharing across the industry to protect buyers from purchasing unsafe or previously damaged vehicles.

“The CCPC’s findings reaffirm the importance of transparency in the used car market,” said Ger Toher, Chief Operating Officer at Cartell.ie. “We have always championed consumers’ right to clear, accurate, and comprehensive vehicle history information. Greater access to critical data, especially write-off records, will help ensure buyers are protected from hidden risks. Our commitment remains to provide the most reliable vehicle history insights, empowering motorists to purchase with confidence and trust.”

As Ireland’s first and original vehicle history check provider, Cartell.ie’s reports include a wealth of information, such as:

• Write-off history – Including damage severity and category classification where available.
• Outstanding finance – Ensuring the vehicle is free from financial encumbrance.
• Previous mileage readings – Detecting odometer fraud.
• Ownership history – Checking the number of previous owners.
• Imports and previous country of registration – Highlighting cross-border risks.
• Taxi or fleet use – Flagging vehicles that may have high mileage or wear.
• CO₂ emissions and road tax information – Helping buyers understand running costs.
• NCT history verification – Confirming past NCT test dates and certificate legitimacy. While specific test results or pass/fail status are not disclosed, this verification provides added confidence for buyers. For UK vehicles and imports, full MOT history, including test results, is available.
• Insurance claims and stolen vehicle records – Offering insights into past insurance claims and theft status where available. While stolen vehicle checks apply to UK reports, the depth of claim history depends on insurer submissions.

In addition to its consumer-focused services, Cartell.ie offers trade sellers on its sister platforms, Carzone.ie and CarsIreland.ie, a free vehicle history check for each ad placed ensuring this data is available to buyers. Buyers can also filter search results to display only vehicles with a history check, ensuring maximum transparency throughout the purchasing process.

Cartell.ie believes a collaborative approach, combining industry expertise with government oversight, is key to improving data accessibility. The company continues to advocate for broader access to vital vehicle history data, particularly category C and D write-off records, to support safer, more informed car purchases.

Cartell.ie looks forward to further engaging with the CCPC, the Department of Transport, and other stakeholders to drive meaningful improvements in data transparency within the used car market.

The post Cartell.ie Supports CCPC’s Call for Greater Transparency in the Used Car Market appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

Now, a history check won’t verify the condition of the car as it is today — you still need to do that yourself with a thorough inspection and a test drive — but it will tell you things that can be even more significant. After all, a component that breaks can be fixed, but if a car still has outstanding finance owed on it, that’s a whole other ballgame.

Essentially, a history check digitally delves back into the history of a car and verifies — or sometimes denies — anything that’s been told you by the seller. It goes back and checks for any history of insurance write-offs, of the car having been stolen and recovered, and will also check the identity of the car itself, to help in the fight against vehicle cloning.

Why is it so important now to get a history check?

Simply because the second-hand car market has seen the values of many cars massively inflated in the past few years, especially since the pandemic. Now, those values are starting to correct, and cars are becoming a little cheaper in many cases, but whenever there’s a change in the market there’s an opportunity for unscrupulous sellers to try and turn some extra profit.

The big issue right now is outstanding finance. With more cars being sold on the basis of a loan or a PCP deal, Cartell has estimated that two-year-old, second-hand cars have a 35 per cent chance of still having finance owing, while the rate for three-year-old cars is 32 per cent. That’s a one-in-three chance that any second-hand car at which you might look to buy is still, technically, the property of a finance provider, as ownership does not transfer until the final payment has been made.

In some cases, this may well not be an issue — a seller may be selling their car in order to pay off that debt, but in some cases, there are darker forces at work, and a less scrupulous person can sell you a car that they don’t technically own. Once they stop making their repayments, the finance company will come looking for that car, and it’s theirs to repossess — you will have no legal comeback and will be both out of pocket and without a car. So, it’s really important to know that before making the buying leap.

There are other significant issues, not least that of written-off cars

Cars can be potentially written off by insurers for relatively minor damage, and it’s certainly not unknown for such cars to be properly repaired, returned to road-worthiness and sold on. However, it’s hugely important that the seller tells you this, and prices the car accordingly — a written-off car, no matter how well repaired, will always be worth a little less than a pristine equivalent. So again, it’s important to be armed with knowledge, not least because you’ll want to inspect the quality of any repair work.

That becomes even more serious when you consider the higher categories of write-offs. Categories C and D, in Ireland, can be legally and safely repaired and resold. However, if a car has been so severely damaged that it is declared Category B, then it can only be broken down for parts, and then only the undamaged parts may be sold and reused. If a car is damaged to the point of being a Category A, then it’s a legal requirement that it is to be crushed, and not even used for spares.

This becomes a little more confusing when cars that come in from the UK are involved, as UK write-offs are filed under different categories. Thankfully, the most serious categories — A and B — are the same, but the UK uses Categories S and N as the equivalents of the Irish C and D.

It’s good to know this given that we are seeing an increasing number of used imports from the UK this year, with the number of cars crossing the Irish sea increasing by 32 per cent to the end of February, compared to the same time last year. That’s 10,270 extra used cars on Irish roads, and it’s been previously estimated that as many as ten per cent of those might be previously written-off, so once again it’s vital to keep your wits about you.

The simple version of all this advice? Get it checked; don’t regret it.

The post Why getting a car history check is more important than ever. appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

Toyota, Ford, and Volkswagen dominate

One thing is abundantly clear from the figures: three brands are dominant in the Irish car market — Toyota, Ford and Volkswagen. As per Cartell.ie’s research, it’s actually two brands and two models that dominate.

In terms of manufacturers, it’s between Toyota and Volkswagen. Toyota is the most-registered brand in ten counties — Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Limerick, May, Offaly and Tipperary. Volkswagen, meanwhile, is top dog in the other 16, taking Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Meath, Roscommon, Monaghan, Sligo, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.

It’s tempting to see an east-west divide between the two brands, with reliable and solid Toyota taking the more rural western half of the country, and Volkswagen the (arguably) more cosmopolitan east, but then with Volkswagen top in Sligo, and Toyota taking Cavan, that mostly puts that theory to bed.

Some will be surprised to learn that Ford does not take a top brand ranking in any county, but when it comes to individual models, it’s a different story. And in spite of Toyota’s impressive sales performance in Ireland in the past decade, the big-selling Corolla can only take a series of second places — in Clare, Cork, Kerry and Roscommon.

In all counties, the dominant pairing is the Volkswagen Golf and the Ford Focus, and it’s honours-even between these two titans, which take 13 counties each. The Golf is the most-registered car in Carlow, Dublin, Galway, Kildare, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Sligo, Westmeath and Wicklow. The Focus takes top spot in Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Kerry, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Mayo, Roscommon, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford.

Considering that the Ford Focus has not been a best-selling car in the new car market for some time now, it’s testament to both how well the Focus sold in the years prior, and to the fact that Irish car buyers tend to keep cars for longer and longer these days. Indeed, drill down into the lists of most-registered models and you’ll find that many out-of-production cars are still rolling around, such as the 662 examples of the Toyota Auris still registered in Cavan, with another 6,200 of those in Cork. There are also 1,089 Toyota Avensis still registered in Kilkenny, and another 869 in Laois.

SUVs and crossovers not dominant yet

For all that SUVs and crossovers currently dominate the new-car sales lists, the fact that those new sales have been relatively low since the mid-2000s, and the fact of buyers holding onto cars for longer means that only two have really put down a mark on Irish roads. Unsurprisingly, these are the Nissan Qashqai and the Hyundai Tucson.

In new car terms, both have been sales giants in the past decade, and while they don’t dominate the overall registrations to the same extent, they are starting to creep up the rankings. The Qashqai, for example, is the fifth-most registered car in Cavan, Clare, Dublin, Kerry, Limerick, Meath, Waterford and Wicklow, while it takes third place in Louth and Wexford. The Hyundai Tucson tends to be down in the lower half of each county’s league tables, but given its stellar sales performance since 2016, that surely cannot last.

County tastes

Clearly, given that the best-selling cars nationally will reappear locally, the top tens in each county are broadly predictable. The Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla tend to dominate the top three, while the rest of the top ten is generally taken up by the Volkswagen Passat, the Nissan Qashqai, the Skoda Octavia, the Ford Fiesta and the Toyota Yaris.

However, that does leave some space for individual tastes to shine through in each county. In Donegal, for example, it’s clear that many are shopping cross-border for their cars, as Vauxhall is the ninth-most registered brand. Meanwhile, the rise and rise of the premium car marques has left its fingerprints on Ireland’s registration stats — the Audi A4 breaks into the top ten in Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Galway, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Westmeath and Wexford. Meanwhile, the BMW 520 gets top-ten placings in Dublin and Kildare, perhaps unsurprisingly so.

Where luxury brands are concerned, it’s probably equally unsurprising that Dublin rules — there’s clearly money about as BMW, Audi and Mercedes occupy sixth, seventh and eighth places in the brands list.

There are other little regional variations, too. The Opel Astra, once a huge-seller in Ireland but a car whose sales tailed off in recent years, still takes seventh spot in Leitrim, tenth spot in Donegal, Sligo and Waterford, and ninth in Roscommon. The Volkswagen Polo is popular in Dublin and Louth, taking seventh and eighth spots in the registration charts, respectively, while Monaghan seems to be an outlier — the Opel Insignia is the tenth-most registered car there, yet it does not appear in the top ten anywhere else, while the SEAT Leon is the sixth-most registered, and again does not appear in any other county’s top ten.

Peugeot and Renault also do well overall, breaking into the top ten brands in many counties, but without managing to get a single model from either brand into the top ten most registered individual models in any county.

Long turnover times

What these lists of registrations most clearly show, however, is the length of time it takes to make a major impression on the national car park. The Hyundai Tucson, for example, has generally been the best-selling new car in Ireland for eight years now, but it’s — as noted — always in the lower half of county top tens for total registrations. There are no electric models on the list as yet, either, and the Qashqai and Tucson are the only SUVs that break into any county’s top ten. So for all the fuss and furore over both SUVs and electric cars, they still make up only a very small proportion of the cars most of us drive in most parts of Ireland. That will change, of course, but these numbers show it will take time.

The post Which cars are more common on each of our county’s roads? appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

This is a complex issue, but it’s an increasingly prevalent one. According to history checking service Cartell.ie, the number of cars being offered for sale with outstanding finance remaining is on the rise. If a car on sale is two years old, according to Cartell’s figures, it has a 35 per cent chance of still having money owed on it. For three-year-old cars, the rate is still 32 per cent. 

The chance of a car having outstanding finance on it then tails off — at four years old it falls to 20 per cent, which is obviously less but it still means that one in five cars on sale at that age are still subject to a finance agreement. When you consider how many cars you might look at in the course of shopping for a second-hand car, it becomes pretty obvious just how significant an issue it is. 

But why is it an issue? Well, simply put, a seller is not supposed to sell you a car with outstanding finance owed. Whether it’s a PCP deal, or Hire Purchase, until the final payment has been made, the car is not legally the property of the person using it, and therefore they have no right to sell it. In fact, the only time it’s legal to sell on a car for which you still owe money is if that finance was in the form of an unsecured personal loan from a bank or credit union — in that instance the person selling the car does own it, and the car isn’t specifically legally tied to the outstanding amount.

In all other cases, though, technically the real owner of the car is the finance company providing the loan (which is really what a PCP or HP deal is) for the car’s purchase, and if you’ve bought that car — and the previous owner doesn’t clear the amount owing — then that finance company can come looking for the car and can seize it.

At that point, you essentially have no legal comeback — the car was and still is the property of the finance company, and therefore whether you have a receipt or invoice for the purchase, technically the sale was illegal and invalid, and therefore the finance company is simply taking back what’s rightfully theirs. Your money, the cash you spent on the car, is then forfeit — you’ve no legal right to the car, so no-one else is liable for the money you spent on it. It’s the ultimate, and most painful, form of caveat emptor — buyer beware. 

What can you do if this happens? Well, you can appeal to the finance company in the first instance. If you can show that you bought the car in good faith, then they may act with some leniency. Equally, if you can track down the person who sold you the car, you should demand your money back from them — preferably via your solicitor rather than getting into any personal confrontation — as they never had the legal right to sell the car in the first place. If neither of those appeals work, then it’s time to lawyer-up and get ready to bring the person who sold you the car, whether they’re a private individual or a dealer, to court.

Obviously, that’s a hugely stressful process and it’s better not to find yourself in that situation in the first place. It’s definitely a good idea to use a history checking service, such as Cartell’s, to look into the background of any car you want to buy before you actually write the cheque. Those history checking services will usually uncover whether a specific car is still the subject of a finance agreement. 

Clearly, there are some people selling cars who, for whatever reason, are doing so to raise the funds to honestly and diligently clear the outstanding amount, but even if that is the case they are in a very legally grey area where they are technically selling a car that does not belong to them yet. If they are honest, upstanding people and immediately clear off their debt once they’ve sold the car to you, then all is well but it’s far better not to get yourself into that kind of setup in the first place, as you are ultimately then relying on the good will of others when a substantial amount of money is at stake. 

Make sure you carry out a Car History Check on every used car you are thinking of buying to see if it has outstanding finance. Simply enter the registration number below to get started!

The post What happens if you buy a car with outstanding finance? appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

In the case of four-year-old vehicles checked in 2021 there was a 20% chance of a vehicle from that year being offered for sale with finance outstanding based on checks on Cartell.ie in the year gone by, but, like other key years the four-year- old-car level of finance has increased – to 21% this year.

Older vehicles are also showing relatively high levels of finance: a six-year-old vehicle, for example, shows 16% with outstanding finance in 2022 whereas the comparable figure last year, in 2021, was lower – 15%.

Ross Conlon, CEO CarsIreland.ie and Group Director New Business at Mediahuis Ireland, says: “We are witnessing a market correction: the overall percentages of vehicles offered for sale with finance outstanding in key registration years has risen again since the declines recorded in 2020. Buyers should we aware that there is now a one-in-three chance that a vehicle three-years-old or less is for sale with outstanding finance.”

“Buyers are strongly advised to be cautious in the market as you cannot take good title in the asset until the final payment has been paid to the financial institution. This means you may be buying a huge problem.”

The reasons for the increase seen between 2021 and 2022 is likely due to increased market activity, opening up of markets since the pandemic shut down.

The post Number of Vehicles with Outstanding Finance on the Rise appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

Taking a sample size of 5,000 vehicles Cartell looked at the retail price of each vehicle, assuming average mileage, in November 2020, and used this as a control to test the value of each of the same vehicles in 2021 and in 2022 by running all three years through the Cartell Price Guide (CPG) a vehicle valuation service available to users of its service.

Among the results was a 161 Volkswagen Passat diesel, which was worth €14,900 in 2020 and is now worth €19,500 and a 181 Renault Captur worth €16,950 in 2021 which is now worth €18,400.

The results show that, on average, the year-over-year increase stands at 7.78 per cent. This is a decline on the rate of increase between the years 2020 and 2021 which stood at 15.2%. It should be noted this is the price difference between the various vehicles today compared with the same price for each respective vehicle in the previous two years. Cartell used actual vehicles which, although they were one year older, or, two years older, actually appreciated over their equivalent 2020 value.

Ross Conlon, CEO CarsIreland.ie and Group Director New Business at Mediahuis Ireland says:

“These results show that vehicle values in the used market have continued to push upwards since we last published results in 2021. While the rate of increase has declined it is still a significant event that values have risen – cars are considered a depreciating asset after all. While microchip shortages appear to be levelling out there are still issues around availability of new vehicles and this is consequently pushing values up in the residual market. We expect to see the rate of increase decline further over the next 12 months.”

The post Average Car Worth 8% More Now Than Last Year appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

Our latest data reveals a rise in CO₂ emissions in the Irish fleet. In 2021, Cartell looked at the state of CO₂ emissions in the private transport sector for the first 10 months of the year and compared the results to the first ten months of the year for each year since 2003. In November the international GOP26 stressed the urgent need for Governments to introduce measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions including in the private transport sector.

Unfortunately Cartell can report that the situation has deteriorated over the last 12 months and the gains which we noted were recorded in 2020 have not been consolidated in respect of our emission of CO₂. In a development for Government there has been an upturn in the average CO₂ emissions of new vehicles sold in Ireland: in 2021 average emissions increased recording a reading of 112g CO₂ /km*. This is a level equivalent to what was recorded in 2018 and far above the level of 105g CO₂ /km that Cartell observed for the equivalent period last year.

Graph 1: Average CO₂   of new private vehicles bought in Ireland 2003-2021 for first ten months of the year in each case – Jan to October (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Table 1: Average CO₂  of new private vehicles bought in Ireland 2003-2021 for  first ten months of the year in each case – Jan to October (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Why has there been an increase this year?

Cartell.ie considered the data further for each of the various vehicle price segments to see which segment is performing the best and which the worst. Surprisingly, the best segment, showing the lowest CO₂ emissions, was the most expensive segment considered – vehicles over €60,000 in value. This segment brought in average emissions of just 90 CO₂ /km down from 127 CO₂ /km for the equivalent period last year. The worst performing segment for emissions were those vehicles at the other end of the scale – vehicles priced at €20,000 or less recorded a figure of 122 CO₂ /km. The segment breakdown was as follows:

Table 2: Average CO₂  of new private vehicles bought in Ireland 2003-2021 for  first ten months of the year in each case – Jan to October by price segment (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Jeff Aherne, Innovation Lead Cartell.ie, says:

“We are looking exclusively at new vehicles sold in Ireland and not at imported vehicles. It is unfortunate that the figures for CO₂ /km in the private transport sector are increasing, just when we thought things had shifted in a favourable direction. The Government will have to seriously consider these results which show that it is the cheaper new cars which are doing the damage – CO₂ /km for new cars priced less than €20,000 are the highest of any segment. The reason for this is pretty straightforward: Electric Vehicles and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles are bringing down the overall level of emissions in the more expensive segments. Until the price of these vehicle types reduces we face an uphill battle in bringing down fleet CO₂ /km any further. At the other end of the market, these results show that those with cash to splurge on an expensive car are thinking about the environment: this is one good thing to come out of these findings.”

*WLTP

The post Cartell Data Reveals Rise in C02 Emissions appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

Since the inception of the End-of-life regime, 775,000 vehicles have been disposed of within the remit of the Regulations. This amounts to over 1 million tonnes of waste, or, put another way, 1,000 cars per week disposed.

The Regulations were originally enacted pursuant to the provisions of Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and Council on end-of-life vehicles. As originally stated the aim of the Regulations was to facilitate the achievement of the 85% reuse/recovery with 80% reuse/recycling by average weight per vehicle and year from their commencement and 95% reuse/recovery with 85% reuse/recycling by average weight per vehicle and year by 1^st January 2015. The original 2006 Regulations were revoked and updated by the European Union (End-of-Life Vehicles) Regulations 2014. 

The current total number of vehicles, up to the end of April 2021, on the Department of Transport National Vehicle and Drivers File (NVDF) which have been registered as End-of-Life is 774,729 – up from 772,850 the previous week – an increase of 1879 over a seven-day-period at the end of April.

An additional 390,876 vehicles have been issued as Scrapped on the NVDF giving a total of over 1 million vehicles recorded as either End-of-Life or Scrapped (1,165,605).

The rate of vehicles going End-of-Life appears to be increasing and while the average rate of disposal is 1,000 cars per week, over the lifetime of the Regulations the total number disposed of in the week considered for the study, the last week of April, was 1,879, and, in the last week in March, the total disposed of amounted to 2,013 vehicles – both weeks well above the average.

Jeff Aherne, Innovation Lead, Cartell.ie says:

“In terms of waste management these Regulations have resulted in the disposal of an estimated 1 million tonnes of old vehicles: this is a significant amount of waste within the context of environmental protection. The other significant thing comes with the reporting of these vehicles as End-of-Life meaning they cannot return to the road – from a road safety perspective this is important. Cartell reports can identify if a vehicle is scrapped or End-of-Life just in case unscrupulous individuals try and use a cloned vehicle.”

Note: The Waste Management (End-of-Life Vehicles) Regulations 2006 were commenced on 8^th June 2006 which amounts to 778 weeks between the period 8^th June 2006 to 30^th April 2021 yielding an average of 996 vehicles per week as 774,729 vehicles went End-of-Life during that period.

The estimated tonnage is found by multiplying the total number of vehicles by the estimated weight of a vehicle at 1.5 tonnes giving a figure of 1,162,093 tonnes.

Vehicle manufacturers, distributors and importers have obligations to meet the ELV Directive targets. An ELV producer compliance scheme, ELV Environmental Services (ELVES), was launched in 2017. It works on behalf of vehicle manufacturers, distributors and importers to improve the ELV processing in Ireland and enable its members to meet their regulatory responsibilities. 

The post Almost One Million Vehicles go End-of-Life since Inception appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

There are three award categories – Best Presented Cars, Best Online Marketing and Best Use of Social Media. Car dealers will be ranked on the quality of the photographs and descriptions of stock on CarsIreland.ie, their online presence and use of social media for sales and brand-building.

This year will see the addition of an extra award for an ‘Industry Superstar’ – a staff member who has gone above and beyond for their company in light of the difficulties brought about by COVID-19 and ongoing public health restrictions.

Ger Toher, Chief Commercial Officer of CarsIreland.ie said;

“We are delighted to once again team up with Ulster Bank’s Lombard as these awards enter their seventh year and to recognise the serious effort put in by all motor industry staff, especially given the difficulties faced by dealerships over the last year. We continue to be astounded by the quality and standard of the submissions from car dealers from all across the country. We look forward to working together with Lombard as we continue to encourage and support our network of over 1,200 dealers with initiatives like this one.”

Head of Motor Finance at Ulster Bank’s Lombard, Donal Walsh said;

“Through our Consumer Motor Finance team we have formed close relationships with motor dealers around the country and we know that over the past year they have been working really hard to meet the ongoing challenges of COVID-19, adapting and innovating for customers every day. That’s why Ulster Bank’s Lombard is delighted to be in a position to help recognise and reward some of this brilliant work. We’re proud to once again support the CarsIreland.ie Dealer Awards, as part of our ongoing successful partnership with CarsIreland.ie. We look forward to seeing this year’s entries and continuing to work with, and support, our customers across Ireland in the months ahead.”

The overall winners will attend an awards ceremony in Dublin in December 2021.

The awards will be judged based on the the following criteria:

Best Presented Cars – This will be judged on the quality of the photographs and descriptions of stock on CarsIreland.ie – taking into account consistency, creativity, and quantity of information supplied. It’s also important that stock is kept up to date and all information entered is accurate. Special attention is paid to consistency and any efforts made to stand out from competitors via branding, video etc.

Best Online Marketing – This takes into account not just the above but also the overall online presence including your website, search visibility and utilisation of new technology and tools that help streamline the customer experience online.

Best Social Media – This will be judged on the best use of social media as both a sales and brand-building tool. Special attention will be paid to regularity of posting and balance when it comes to content. Ideally posts should keep customers both informed and engaged

The post CarsIreland.ie and Ulster Bank’s Lombard launch 2021 Car Dealership Awards appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

Table 1: Most Popular Models Searched on CarsIreland (February 2021)(Source: CarsIreland intelligence)

The results show that the top two models, on both lists, were the VW Golf and the Ford Focus. This highlights the popularity of those models end-to-end in the sales cycle from initial search by the potential buyer through to a completed transaction for the vehicle.

Interestingly, the results also showed that the third-most-popular-model searched on CarsIreland.ie in February was the BMW 5 Series, while, on the other list, the corresponding ranking for that vehicle found the vehicle was the eleventh most popular car sold so far in 2021 – falling outside the top-ten altogether. This highlights that significant volumes of searches early-on in the buying cycle may be aspirational or may be indicative of the prospective buyer starting off his or her search in the marketplace by focusing on the higher-end of the market, considering values, before ultimately deciding to purchase in a different segment. Evidence of this trend can be seen further down the list where both the Mercedes Benz E Class, the BMW 3 Series and the Audi A6 appear in the top-10 on the list of most-searched vehicles on CarsIreland.ie in February while those same vehicles do not appear at all in the list of most popular vehicles by numbers of transactions so far in 2021.

Table 2: Most Popular Models in the Irish fleet (Private Used and Imported YTD 2021) (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Ross Conlon, CEO CarsIreland.ie and Group Director New Business at Independent News and Media, says:

“These results are an eye opener for us, as they show that while the searches carried out on the site can tally with the overall level of popularity for that particular vehicle in the used market in Ireland, they also show that search popularity can be an indicator of preference for the particular look of a vehicle without necessarily representing any commitment to purchase it.

They may also be indicative of a desire to search the higher-end of the market first before ultimately seeing better value in purchasing in a different segment.”

The post Irish Used Car Market: What you are searching for and what you are buying appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

Fortunately Cartell reports today the situation has improved in respect of our emission of CO₂. In an encouraging development for Government there has been a downturn in the average CO₂ emissions of new vehicles sold in Ireland: in 2020 average emissions decreased recording a reading of 105g CO₂ /km. This is the lowest level that Cartell has observed since recording these figures. More encouraging still is the fact that CO₂ /km had actually been going in the wrong direction until this year: the figure for 2019 of 114 CO₂ /km was higher than the figures for both 2018 (113 CO₂ /km) and 2017 (112 CO₂ /km)

Graph 1: Average CO₂   of new private vehicles bought in Ireland 2003-2020 for first ten months of the year in each case – Jan to October (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Table 1: Average CO₂  of new private vehicles bought in Ireland 2003-2020 for  first ten months of the year in each case – Jan to October (Source: Cartell Carstat)

Why has there been a fall this year?

One of the reasons for the fall may be the increase in Electric Vehicles (+21%) and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles (+16%) relative to the overall numbers of new vehicles purchased. Unfortunately new car sales overall are down in 2020 (-26%) so the impact of the purchase of more EVs and PHEVs in 2020 has had a correspondingly higher impact on the overall level of CO_2.

Jeff Aherne, Innovation Lead Cartell.ie, says:

“We are looking exclusively at new cars sold in Ireland and not at imported vehicles. It is timely that the figures for CO₂ /km in the private transport sector are dropping. The fall between 2019 and 2020 is significant and the Government will be encouraged by these results. To put that fall in perspective we have to go back to 2010 to find a 12-month-drop as large as what these results have yielded. However, there is a caveat to this: new car sales are well down this year for obvious reasons and so the purchase of EVs and PHEVs are having a larger positive impact than we might otherwise expect in a normal year. It isn’t all bad news though: if EVs and PHEVs continue their upward trajectory we may see the reductions in CO₂ consolidated in 2021.”

Cartell.ie is Ireland’s first and most comprehensive automotive data supplier providing Car History Checks to consumers and dealers. Launched in 2006, Cartell.ie is the automotive data expert providing tailored vehicle intelligence data to insurers, financiers, parts suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, and all sectors of the automotive industry. We supply data for multiple European countries such as, UK & Ireland, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands, Malta and more. 

The post CO2 Emissions Drop Significantly appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

INM’s motoring subsidiary, trading as CarsIreland.ie, with Cartell.ie will focus on the industry’s accelerated transition to digital solutions by providing Ireland’s most relied upon digital platform. The combination of the two companies and two brands will result in a unique offer-ing to the industry and also to car buyers across Ireland.

Cartell.ie, established in 2006, has succeeded in developing its suite of services into the gold standard for the automotive market, built on the quality of its data cleansing and its customer service. This excellence has powered their growth to the No 1 position in both the vehicle history check market and data provision for aftermarket services such as car parts and accessories.

Nicola Aherne, Managing Director of Cartell.ie: “Fourteen years ago, we launched Cartell.ie as the first real data solution specifically tailored to the Irish automotive sector. From the outset, our focus was on quality and innovation. I believe the combination of Cartell.ie and CarsIreland.ie supported by INM and its parent Mediahuis will provide us with the strength and scale to grow. We are excited by the opportunity to develop even more innovative solutions and to substantially boost our commercial strength far into the future.”

Marc Vangeel, CEO of INM: “The acquisition of Cartell is part and parcel of our strategy to stretch our lead in markets where we already have strong foundations. This is an important investment for our business as the combination of two motoring platforms presents a unique opportunity to grow and scale in Ireland and beyond. Digital transformation is front and centre for business and we are delighted to be at the forefront for the motoring industry in Ireland.”

KPMG Corporate Finance advised Cartell throughout the transaction and congratulates all parties on a successful deal.

The post Independent News and Media Group acquires Ireland’s leading automotive data company Cartell.ie. appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

The company advises that only 27 have been registered so far in 2020 and a mere 167 were registered with a 2019 plate. The numbers peak with 2186 registered to 2007 and 1838 registered to 2006.

Graph 1 – Convertibles in the Irish fleet 1990 to 2020 (Source: Cartell Carstat)

In total there are 15,738 convertibles in the Irish fleet and approximately one third of those (5325) have been imported.

The most popular model is the Mazda MX5 with 953 registered. The next most popular is the Renault Megane with 812 registered.

Cartell considered why the popularity of convertibles has fallen away:

Convertibles may have been seen as a sign of affluence: they are more popular in the “boom years” – 2003 to 2008

Even though the numbers have fallen convertibles are more popular now than they were in the early 1990s

Other body type choices: the rise in popularity of body types like the SUV may have taken the gloss away from convertible sales as the buyer opts for something more practical yet stylish.

John Byrne, Cartell.ie says:

“The convertible may have been seen as a sign of the times during the boom years when open-topped driving was at its most popular. The fall off since then could be due to a variety of factors – obviously the weather is not always kind in Ireland and buyers often opt for more practical options but there has been a shift in the market away from this type of car.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For further information please contact John Byrne on 087 4199018 or at john at cartell.ie or check out www.cartell.ie  for further information.

Cartell.ie is Ireland’s first and most comprehensive automotive data supplier providing Car History Checks to consumers and dealers. Launched in 2006, Cartell.ie is the automotive data expert providing tailored vehicle intelligence data to insurers, financiers, parts suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, and all sectors of the automotive industry. We supply data for multiple European countries such as, UK & Ireland, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands, Malta and more. Cartell.ie is a totally independent company and fully Irish owned.

The post Irish Buyer Rejects Convertibles appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

Vehicle history and data expert Cartell.ie reports today (22^nd April) on the numbers of Porsche, Maserati, Bentley, Ferrari and Aston Martins in the live fleet. In total there are 1,184 high-end luxury vehicles from these marques currently in the Irish fleet.

The company notes the decline in vehicles at this end of the market for the registration year 2019 compared with the previous year with only 91 vehicles registered against 135 for the registration year 2018. The height of the market is to be found in 2015 with 228 luxury cars registered to that year.

Graph 1: Number of Porsche, Maserati, Bentley, Ferrari, Aston Martin in Irish Live Fleet 2010 to 2020 (Source: Cartell Cartstat)

Imports

More than 50% of those vehicles have been imported: 667 imports against 517 indigenous Irish vehicles.

Models

The top model among the marques was the Porsche Panamera with 276 units followed by the Porsche Cayenne with 258 and the Porsche Macan with 197. The Porsche 911 also features with 104 examples of this model live in the current Irish fleet. The top Ferrari in Ireland is the California with 6 models. According to the Government data, there is one Ferrari Testarossa. Aston Martin peaks with the DB11 – there are 7 in the country.

John Byrne, Cartell.ie says:
“With so much uncertainty in the current market, it is interesting to see how many top-end luxury cars are in the country. Porsche leads the way with a variety of models and the avid car spotter has the chance to see a Ferrari Testarossa and a Ferrari 458 Italia among other super-luxe vehicles in Ireland.”

Table 2 The top models from the marques Porsche, Maserati, Bentley, Ferrari, Aston Martin in Irish Live Fleet 2010 to 2020 (Source: Cartell Cartstat)

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For further information please contact John Byrne on 087 4199018 or at john at cartell.ie or check out www.cartell.ie  for further information.

Cartell.ie is Ireland’s first and most comprehensive automotive data supplier providing Car History Checks to consumers and dealers. Launched in 2006, Cartell.ie is the automotive data expert providing tailored vehicle intelligence data to insurers, financiers, parts suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, and all sectors of the automotive industry. We supply data for multiple European countries such as, UK & Ireland, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands, Malta and more. Cartell.ie is a totally independent company and fully Irish owned.

The post Porsche Panamera is Top Luxury Car in Ireland appeared first on Cartell Car Check.

Vehicle data expert CARTELL.IE reports today (11^th March) that more new vehicles are being sold with automatic transmission, and the gap between manual and automatic transmission has narrowed considerably in the last 5 years for new car purchases.

For native Irish cars automatic transmission has grown from 18,831 of new cars purchased in 2015 to 36,286 vehicles in 2019 – almost doubling in numbers. By contrast, manual transmission vehicles have declined from 106,837 to 77,183 over the same period.

The ratio of manual to automatic transmission vehicles so far in 2020 now comes in at less than 2:1 –

25,474 manuals compared with 14,166 automatics.

Graph and Chart showing transmission types for new cars purchased in Ireland 2015 to 2020

Reasons for the increase in automatic transmission may simply be owing to manufacturers including automatic as standard in many new luxury cars. Automatic transmission vehicles, often a relatively expensive additional option, are considered by most drivers as easier to drive. There are also now negligible differences in terms of emissions between the two types meaning environmental considerations generally do not factor in the buyers decision between the two.

Most electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) have automatic transmission as standard. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) which are early precursors to autonomous vehicles of the future now include an advancement called predictive transmission which enables the vehicle to automatically shift to the optimal gear after identifying the road and traffic conditions ahead.

John Byrne, Cartell.ie says:

“It’s interesting to see how popular automatic transmissions have become. Automatics are easier to function and many current variants are incredibly intuitive and add positively to the driving experience. The days of the manual are not gone but remember that Electric Vehicles (EVs) generally require automatic transmission so as we phase towards EVs we can expect the growth in automatics to continue.”

For imports the manual is more popular: 319,951 of all imports (cars only) into Ireland are manual transmission while 104,323 are automatics. The whole fleet currently shows 2,624,504 manuals as against 489,414 automatics.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

For further information please contact John Byrne on 087 4199018 or at john at cartell.ie or check out www.cartell.ie  for further information.

Cartell.ie is Ireland’s first and most comprehensive automotive data supplier providing Car History Checks to consumers and dealers. Launched in 2006, Cartell.ie is the automotive data expert providing tailored vehicle intelligence data to insurers, financiers, parts suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, and all sectors of the automotive industry. We supply data for multiple European countries such as, UK & Ireland, Spain, Portugal, The Netherlands, Malta and more. Cartell.ie is a totally independent company and fully Irish owned.

The post Automatic Transmission on the Rise appeared first on Cartell Car Check.