We’re kicking off a new feature on JOE this week were we take a look at what’s going down on the Irish motoring scene.
This week, we take a look at the all new Lexus RC, Nissan tease the new Qashqai, Fiat gets set to launch the new 500 range and we take a look at the best selling car brand in Ireland.
Lexus reaches out to a younger audience with the new RC luxury coupé
Ahead of it’s official launch at the Tokyo Motor Show on November 20, Lexus have unveiled pictures of the all-new Lexus RC. Put frankly, the car is absolutely ****ing stunning. Sorry, but it is. Two RC models will be displayed at the Tokyo Motor Show – the RC 350 with 3.5L V6 engine, and the RC 300h hybrid with 2.5L engine.
The RC has been developed to raise the brand’s profile with a broader younger audience and new-to-Lexus customers. There’s no confirmation as to what price the RC is coming in at, but it should hit Irish shores sometime late next year. Check out the gallery above for a better look at the car.
For more info check out www.lexus.ie.
FIAT adds some members to the FIAT 500 Family
This week, FIAT Ireland gets set to introduce some new members to the new FIAT 500 range. The newest member of the 500L range to go on sale in Ireland is the FIAT 500L MPW (below). Prices for the FIAT 500L MPW start at €23,550 for the TwinAir 105hp Pop Star, and €24,300 for the diesel-powered 1.3 MultiJet 85hp Pop Star.
A new sportier 500S (below) will also join the line up and will include an Abarth-inspired look and feel. The FIAT 500S 1.2 is priced at €15,195 and has CO2 emissions of 113g/km, putting into VRT band A4 (€200 p.a.), while the FIAT 500S TwinAir Turbo is priced at €16,495 and with CO2 emissions of 92g/km it falls into VRT band A2 (€180 p.a.).
Also being featured this week is the all-new FIAT 500L Trekking (below) which is currently on sale in Ireland with prices starting at €24,000.
For more info check out www.fiat.ie.
Nissan teases pics of the all-new Qashqai ahead of its global unveil
The latest generation of the Nissan Qashqai crossover will be fully unveiled at a global event on Thursday November 7 at 2.15pm Irish time. We haven’t seen nor heard much about the new Qashqai and the teaser pics leaves quite a lot to the imagination, but keep an eye out on www.nissan.ie on Thursday afternoon to find out more.
Car sales rise in October, but still narrowly behind 2012 figures
New statistics from Motorcheck.ie show that sales of new cars are now just 6% behind those recorded for 2012. A modest rise in sales for October of 4% helped to narrow the gap on last years total. The total number of cars given a new number plate this year is 73,139, which is just 4,803 units behind last years total of 77,942 for the same period.
Volkswagen maintains the top spot with 13% of sales and only 77 units separate second and third place with Toyota and Ford both occupying 10% of the market each.
Commenting on the latest statistics, Motorcheck.ie Co-Founder Shane Teskey said, “Even though sales for new cars are still extremely low, market share is as important as ever. The fact that the motor industry’s call for a swappage scheme was overlooked in this years’ budget means that any forecast for 2014 will be full of uncertainty with growing fears for jobs in the sector”.
And on that bombshell, we’ll leave it there for this week’s JOE’s Monday Motors, but make sure to check back next week when we give you a rundown of what’s happening on the Irish motoring scene.
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