Car 6

Landsdowne Rugby Football Club in Dublin has been given the use of a Peugeot 5008 7-seat SUV and a Peugeot Partner van, as part of a partnership agreement with Sandyford Motor Centre , writes Brian Byrne . The Club was founded in 1872 by Henry Dunlop, and has won the Leinster Senior Cup a record 24 times. In 2017/2018, captained by Ian Prendiville and coached by Mike Ruddock and Mark McHugh, Lansdowne won the All Ireland League, the Bateman Cup, the Leinster Senior Cup and the Leinster Senior League Cup. It is the first-ever Leinster team to win all of these trophies in one season. Pictured are Joe O'Grady, Group Head of Finance and Business Development, Sandyford Motor Centre; Mike Ruddock, Lansdowne Football Club Coach; Bruce Soraghan, Dealer Principal, Sandyford Motor Centre; and Derry Shaw, President of Lansdowne Football Club.

Toyota Ireland says more than 22 million kilometres have been driven by users of its FaceItDown app since the initiative was launched in August 2017, writes Brian Byrne . If users leave their mobile phone screen down while using the app and driving, they gain points towards rewards. These include discounts at Q-Park, a free hot drink at Circle K stores, or €50 off FBD car insurance. More than 49,000 motorists have installed the app in the last two years, and over 36,000 awards have been redeemed by users. Research shows that when using a hand-held mobile phone while driving, you’re four times more likely to crash than someone who is not using a hand-held phone.

Audi in Ireland has introduced a website for owners of imported or Irish-sourced Audis so they can easily check for software upgrade or product recall requirements, writes Brian Byrne . This is in association with Cartell.ie, the vehicle history and data monitoring company. The site is AudiCheck.ie , and by putting in their car's registration, owners will be able to see if these matters are up to date. Any shortcomings can be rectified at their nearest Audi dealer, free. Of all makes and models of imported cars tracked by Cartell.ie this year to end of June, 23pc of imported used cars had mileage discrepancies. There was also outstanding finance alerts on 14.4pc of the cars checked, and 16.4pc registered damage alerts.

A special event at the weekend in Oxford continued celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Mini, with the 10 millionth of the nameplate since it was first launched in 1959, writes Brian Byrne . The 60 Years Anniversary Edition car had pride of place with a version of the original in a lineup of 60 cars to represent each year of production, at Plant Oxford. Launched in 1959 and designed by Alec Issigonis, the classic Mini revolutionised the automotive world and was produced at Oxford until 1968, before moving to Longbridge, near Birmingham, where it continued to be built until October 2000. Between 1959 and 2000 more than 5.3 million classic Minis were built. Since the brand’s rebirth in 2001 under BMW ownership, sales around the world have gone from strength to strength. Last year nearly 400,000 MINIs were sold in 110 countries across the globe.

The Toyota Corolla continues to be the best-selling car in the Irish market for 2019, writes Trish Whelan . Launched into the Irish market in early 2019 with a completely new design both inside and out, the Corolla has since sold 4,037 models so far this year, 87pc of which are self-charging hybrids. Hybrid models drive in zero emissions mode up to 62pc of the time. Toyota Ireland has placed in top position for July car sales holding a 12.8pc share of the market according to registration numbers from The Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI). Toyota has sold 11,203 vehicles over the past 7 months of this year with 3,152 of these sold in July alone. The rise in sales follows the addition of four new generation self-charging hybrid models to the Irish market with strong sales across the RAV4, Corolla Hatchback, Corolla Touring Sport, and Camry. The C-HR, Yaris and Prius models also continue to sell well.

New car buyers have delivered three best-sellers for Nissan, namely Qashqai (best-selling crossover); LEAF (best-selling EV); and Micra (best-selling petrol car), writes Trish Whelan . Nissan’s Qashqai remains Ireland’s best-selling crossover of all time with 3,590 new car buyers taking delivery of the car up to the end of July. Customers can choose from petrol and diesel engines across the entire Qashqai range. It is currently the best-selling car in counties Dublin, Louth, Clare, Limerick and Cavan. Sales of electric vehicles in Ireland are up 195pc on last year with 2,689 units sold so far this year. Nissan’s LEAF is the undisputed leader in this segment with 944 units sold which represents a 67pc increase in sales for the zero emissions car. LEAF has a spacious interior and ample boot space making it easy for families to make the switch to EV. The new 62 kWH LEAF delivers up to 385 kms of zero emissions driving on a single charge.   Micra is the best-selling ...

Renault Captur Renault Group Ireland enjoyed a strong start to the busy 192 registration period finishing Number One in the Light Commercial Vehicle market and with a 10.2pc combined share of the new car and van markets for July, writes Trish Whelan . In the LCV market in July, Renault came in first position with 20.4pc market share, up 5.8pc on the same time last year, maintaining third position year-to-date. Master, Trafic and Kangoo took the top spots in the large, medium and small van markets respectively. Kangoo finished the month as the Number One van in Ireland while Master maintains its leadership position in the large van segment year-to-date.   The electric vehicle market continued to grow in July to 3pc share of the market. The electric Renault ZOE had its strongest ever month, maintaining third position in the segment with 12.8pc share, up 7pc versus last July. The electric Kangoo Z.E. was Ireland’s best-selling electric van last month.   The ...