2009 new car line-up sees emphasis on value

New car enthusiasts will not be disappointed with the range of new models ready for launch as we enter the New Year. For 2009 and beyond, the emphasis is on value and economy, with CO2 ratings dropping on all new model introductions. The array of new cars due for release with the start of the year and ready for a 09 number plate is impressive. Irish distributors are up with the latest in Europe in offering the new models, sometimes ahead of other markets. That will ensure that Irish motorists get the chance to keep up in terms of car style and safety offerings as part of a European market. There is no hiding the air of gloom in some sectors of the motor industry as 2008 comes to a close. For many in the motor industry, 2008 has been a year to forget. The market was significantly lower than most would have anticipated as the year opened. The new car sales figures for the year to the end of November showed an 18 per cent decline on the same period in 2007. That has created a pervasive gloom among the car importers who are finding it difficult to come to terms with the significant decline in the market. Despite earlier expectations, the interest in new car sales was not helped by the changes in Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) brought into law in July. Sales did not meet industry expectations as many car-buyers put their decisions on hold until the end of the year. So will January 2009 make up for the slowdown in sales? The answer is one huge unknown. Car importers are predicting a market anywhere from 60,000 to 100,000 units compared with over 150,000 units this year and over 186,000 units in 2007. Dave Shannon of Toyota Ireland is predicting a market of less than 100,000 units for 2009. He said that used car imports remain a huge challenge and added that Toyota in Ireland will offer a real alternative to this in 2009. Sean Greene, MD at BMW Ireland, said that 90,000 units now seems like an optimistic market figure for 2009. He predicted that, in what he said looks like being the toughest market year ever seen, aftersales and service will be important for BMW dealers in 2009 as a means of generating cashflow. Adrian Walshe, MD of Fiat Ireland, is more optimistic, though. He said with the trend towards smaller and more economic cars, the Fiat range is both eco and affordable. He is predicting an improvement for Fiat, despite the gloomy market forecasts. This gloomy forecast is also the result of the arrival of the great R word into our everyday vocabulary. The world economy found itself in a tailspin and Irish new car-buyers became equally cautious. Let"s hope that banks and business will make a rebound as we enter 2009. They need to give new car-buyers the incentive to upgrade their cars rather than postpone the inevitable for yet another year. So we are giving you a preview on these pages of some of the new cars that will arrive in 2009. And while prices are expected to increase marginally with the 0.5 per cent VAT increase from the start of December, many car companies will attempt to absorb this increase and push to give the Irish motorist better value. Trade in prices remain under pressure with a growing case of Irish trade in prices being dictated by UK auction prices. This will be more of a feature in 2009 as sterling comes to meet parity in value with the euro. On the new car front, there will be new models across each segment of the market. On the small car front, Alfa Romeo has the new MiTo, Daihatsu will have a new Charade, the Ford Ka will be on the roads, Kia will introduce the new Soul and Toyota will introduce the new iQ. Moving up the market, Renault"s new Megane has already hit the streets for 2009 and it will be followed by the new Volkswagen Golf later in January. Mazda will launch the new Mazda 3 later this year and you can expect to see a new Opel Astra by the end of the year. For the bigger family car segment, the big new 2009 arrival is the Opel Insignia, which has already been well publicised. This will be followed by a new Toyota Avensis, which made its British debut before Christmas. There will be some new people carrier MPVs in 2009, top of the list being a new Opel Zafira, which will build on the Zafira success to date, while Citroen will have a new and smaller C3 Picasso. Fiat has already unveiled its Fiorino Qubo and Renault will have an MPV version of its new Kangoo van later this year. For the larger executive class, there are new models from BMW, with its new 7 Series. Mercedes-Benz will be competing with that head-on with its new E-Class in the spring, while Saab, part of the General Motors Group, plans to launch a new 9-5 in the middle of the year. For SUV and 4x4 drivers, there will be a new version of the Land Rover Freelander with stop-start technology to bring down its CO2 rating. Even before that, Audi will be launching the new Q5, a small brother to the larger Q7 and you can expect to see that car on the roads early in 2009. Motorists can expect numerous specification changes across all of the brands. Nissan will see a host of changes across the range following the recent launch of the new seven-seat Qashqai+2. Seat will have a coupé version of the Ibiza on offer, while Honda will introduce the new Jazz model to the market. Many of these cars have been well worth waiting for.