New figures show that the number of new cars licensed in November plunged by almost 60% compared with the same month last year.
The Central Statistics Office said 1,174 new cars were licensed in November, compared with 2,857 a year earlier. 52% of these were diesel-powered.
For the first 11 months of the year, new car figures are showing a drop of 18.8% on the same period last year to 145,803. But the number of second-hand cars licensed is up slightly at 56,616.
In November, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 2,707, a fall of almost 54% from November 2007. The number of new goods vehicles licensed was also down 54% at 983.
