Official figures show that the number of new cars licensed in May dropped by almost 40% compared with the same month last year.
The Central Statistics Office said the figure for May was 12,172, down from 20,232 in May 2007. For the first five months of the year, new car sales are showing a 13% fall to 107,200.
Licensing of second-hand cars fell by 8.4% in May compared with the same month last year. The number of new goods vehicles licensed was down by almost a third at 3,219.
