Official figures show a sharp drop in new car sales in the first half of this year.
The Central Statistics Office said 114,569 new cars were licensed in the first six months, down 17.5% on the same period last year. For the month of June, the drop was even bigger, with a drop of 52% to 7,369.
But licensing of second-hand cars was up 6.4% in June compared with June last year. The total number of all vehicles licensed in June was 20,007, a fall of almost 32% on the same month last year.
The CSO figures do not take account of changes in Vehicle Registration Tax which took effect on July 1. Under the new system, cars which produce more carbon dioxide emissions attract higher rates of VRT.
The Society of the Irish Motor Industry has pointed to a strong increase in new car sales in the early days of July.
