Due to literature and perhaps the influence of mass media, some people have romantic notions of going to Ireland and perhaps relocating there completely. And along with the concept of relocation comes the idea of buying a new car. But before you pack your bags and head to "Ireland" you must know some basic facts first.

First, when you speak of Ireland, there are actually two of them. One is the Republic of Ireland which is an independent and sovereign state that is NOT part of the United Kingdom. The other Ireland would be the part commonly referred to as Northern Ireland. The history of these two Irelands is bloody and long and you would need a long time to completely digest why there are now two Irelands existing in Europe. For now, this is sufficient.

Northern Ireland is the Ireland which is still relatively under the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom. Thus people who were born in Northern Ireland may carry both Irish and British citizenship at the same time. Still, there is still interaction between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland ? one example is that much of the fuel bought in the Republic of Ireland is actually meant for consumption in Northern Ireland.

As of 2005 (according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Ford), Ford remains the top UK new cars manufacturer in Northern Ireland since there were more Ford cars bought in that year in Northern Ireland than any other car made by other manufacturers. Of special notice is the Blue Oval model which contributed to Ford's dominance of the Northern Ireland market. The Ford Focus was named the second-top-selling car in Northern Ireland for that year, while the Ford Fiesta made it to the rank of fifth-top-selling car for the area. This has allowed Ford to snare up to 12% of this UK Province's market share for itself as of 2005. Incidentally, Ford Motor Company is celebrating its 90 th year of service and presence in Ireland as a whole this 2007.

Despite Ford's market leadership of Northern Ireland though, Toyota may not be far behind as the Toyota Aygo was able to snare the award of AXA Northern Ireland Car of the Year 2006/2007 given out by the Ulster Motoring Writers Association (under sponsorship of insurance company AXA.)

Most activity in the Northern Ireland automotive industry supply chain can be found in the vicinity of Belfast/County/Antrim area. However, Northern Ireland itself lacks volume vehicle manufacturers of any sort. Despite this lack, Northern Ireland does have the Queens University Belfast where mechanical engineering first- and post-graduate degrees are offered, with emphasis on internal combustion engines. There are also some other colleges where disciplines linked in some way to automobiles are offered. So when you are scouting for a UK new cars dealer in Northern Ireland, you may want to casually ask where he or the dealership salespeople and/or mechanics got their training (which is a good indicator of how well they know the inner workings of the cars they sell.)

Hopefully, all these facts gleaned for you may help you in your plans to look for the right UK new cars dealers and dealerships in Northern Ireland ? and of course the perfect UK new cars from which to choose from.