WICKLOW'S motor traders will be praying 2010 proves more profitable than 2009 as last year proved to be one of the toughest trading years in history.

Across the country a number of businesses were forced to close their doors, but there is some hope ahead with the introduction of the scrappage scheme regarded as one much needed boost for the industry.

While many motor dealers will be placing a great deal of faith in the Scrappage Scheme, there were some welcoming signs that the market may be picking up toward the end of last year.

There was a 300 per cent increase in the amount of cars sold in December of 2009 compared to the same date in 2008.

However, it's worth noting that only one car was purchased in December 2008, compared to the four bought before Christmas in 2009.

Nationally light commercial vehicle registrations were down 69.1 per cent compared to 2008 and HGV registrations were down 69.7 per cent.

Not a single new Alfa Romeo was bought in County Wicklow throughout the year of 2009. While there were no Audis bought during the month of December, a total of 28 Audis were sold during the year, including nine of the A3 range, 13 of the A4, two of the A6, three of the TT range and one A5 range.

Fourteen BMWs were sold in the county over the past 12 months, consisting of two 1 Series, four 3 Series and eight 5 Series range. Only one new Chevrolet hit Wicklow roads last year, a Aveo. Only one Chrysler jeep was sold as well, from the Sebring range. A total of 14 Citroen were sold, including 10 C4 models. Daihatsu sold five models, and Dodge sold two Journey models.

A total of 23 Fiats were bought. The breakdown includes two of the Brave range, two Panda, four Qubo, eight Puntos, six of the 500 range and one Sedici.

Of the range of Ford models for sale, 153 were purchased, including 52 Fiestas, 34 Mondeos and 57 Focus models.

There were 75 GM (Opel) sales, with the most popular range being the Astra (27) followed by the Corsa (24). Of the 22 Hondas sold, 13 were Civics. There were 39 new passenger registrations for Hyundai and six for Jaguar, all from the X-Type range.

Thirty-four new Kia makes were registered, mostly consisting of the Ceed model. The only Land Rover purchased was a Freelander.

There were four spate buyers of Lexus, three from the IS range, and 48 Mazda, including 21 Mazda3 and 17 Mazda6. The most popular Mercedes range was the C Class with 11 sales. There were 27 Mercedes sales overall.

Only four MG/Rovers were bought in the whole country and none of those were bought in Wicklow. Five Minis were sold, all of them the Hatch model. 11 Mitsubishi sales took place, such as five Colts.

136 Nissan cars went for sale, 70 of them being from the Qashqai range and 22 Micras. The two equally most popular Peugeot models were the 207 and 308 with 17 sales each. In total 45 Peugeot were sold.

There weren't any big Porsche spenders and only three people splashed the cash on a Saab. 44 Renaults were bought, including 15 Clio and 16 Megane. There were 30 SEAT sales, including 20 from the Ibiza range, and 54 Skoda, such as 32 Octavia and 11 Superb.

Subaru managed 13 sales pretty evenly broken down between the five ranges, and there were 16 Suzuki sales.

Toyota topped the 200 mark with 204 sales, the highest of any marque in the county, with customers preferring the Avensis most of all (65) just over the Yaris (46) and Corolla (47). Volkswagen nearly matched Toyota sales wise with 202 purchases. The Golf Range proved particularly appealing with 86 sales.

It also wasn't a great year for private imports. 53 cars were privately imported into the Garden County, including 15 Toyota and six Nissan, nine Audi and one Mercedes.

SIMI Press Officer Suzanne Sheridan says there has been a noticeable shift in consumer's purchasing decisions.,

'Low emission cars accounted for 55 per cent of total new car sales in 2009, up from 27 per cent on the previous year. With this environmentally-focused Scrappage scheme, we expect a further reduction in our overall CO2 emissions. Consumers should shop around for the best deals available in the A and B category cars.'

- Myles BUCHANAN