At the fore of a new market

AS THE Irish economy improves, car dealerships are seeing a significant number of people buying new cars and according to Chris Foyle, sales manager of Windsor Airside Nissan in Swords, the electric car market is growing at an impressive rate.
Speaking to The Gazette, Foyle said that their January-June sales are up 25% compared to the same period in 2015.
He said: “We’re very happy to see this growth, which we hope will continue into the rest of the year. The number of people buying vans has also increased a lot, which is a clear sign of the economy improving.
“During the recession, plumbers and carpenters etc held on to their vans, but now that things are getting better, they have a greater need and ability to buy a new vehicle for their business.”
Asked how Nissan’s electric car – the Leaf – is doing, Foyle said: “The Leaf is actually doing quite well – it’s a rising market.
“The car is the top-selling electric car in the marketplace and it’s only going to get better, and I think more electric cars in general are going to be sold.
“The ESB are working on their infrastructure and the [amount of] charging points are growing, so it’s eventually going to get a lot easier to buy an electric car in Ireland.
“While the Government give a grant for people driving them, I still think there should be other incentives, like they have in countries such as Norway.”
When questioned about what he thinks about Google’s self-driving car, Foyle admitted that he doesn’t know an awful lot about them, but he believes that we’re still a long way off until they become widely used.
“In the near future, I think electric cars will be more to the liking of people than these self-driving vehicles, because I think we’re still a long way away from the days of someone hopping into a car and letting it drive by itself.”
Asked if he thinks the Brexit result has led to fears in the industry, Foyle said: “Not at the moment, but I think, in fairness, it’s going to take a bit of time to see what’s going to happen.”
Foyle said that out of the many different vehicles that they have at Windsor Airside Nissan, he generally likes to drive a Nissan X-Trail.
He added: “I really like the feel and look of this car, but my dream car would have to be the Bentley Mulsanne Turbo Convertible – in reality, I don’t think that will ever happen!”
Asked if he had any pet hates with perspective buyers, Foyle wisely replied: “I love all my perspective buyers, and can’t say that I have any pet hates about any of them. We try to welcome them with open arms, and love everything that they say to us, no doubt.”
Windsor Airside Nissan employes 32 people at its motor park in Airside Retail Park, Swords and expects to sell 1,600 units this year.
For further information about the motor group, see www.windsor.ie/nissan, or call 01 870 8700.