The number of new private cars licensed in January slumped 66.6% compared to the same time last year.
The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office shows that a total of 10,997 new cars were sold last month. This compares to a total of 32,961 in January 2008.
The CSO figures also reveal an even steeper fall in the number of new goods vehicles licensed last month. They fell by 77.1% from 4,266 in January 2008 to just 976 in January 2009.
Of the 10,997 new cars sold last year, 4,471 (40.7%) were petrol and 6,372 (57.9%) were diesel.
