Northern Ireland’s new car dealers recorded another weak month in May, the latest industry data suggests.
Just 3,265 new cars were registered in the north last month, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
That was 16.5% (643 cars) down on the same month last year, when 3,908 new cars were recorded.
It came during a month when the wider UK-market returned to growth.
The 149,690 new cars registered in May was almost 3% up on May 2024.
The Nissan Qashqai was the joint-best-selling new car in the north last month.
Overall, the 20,877 new cars registered in Northern Ireland in the first five months of 2025 was 7% down on the same period last year, the equivalent of 1,596 fewer sales.
The difference is even more stark when compared to sales activity prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A total of 25,667 new motors rolled out of garages in the first five months of 2019, almost 5,000 more than this year.
The Nissan Qashqai and the Peugeot 2008 were top of the table May’s best-sellers in the north, with 93 models registered in both cases.
They came in ahead of the Nissan Juke (81), Ford Puma (75), Kia Sportage (73) and Volkswagen T-Roc (73).