Official figures show that the number of new cars licensed last year fell by almost 63% compared with 2008. The figure is the lowest since 1987.
The Central Statistics Office said the new cars figure for last year was 54,432, a drop of 62.8% from the 146,470 in 2008. Toyota led the way with 7,746 cars, followed by Ford (7,738), Volkswagen (6,127) and Nissan (4,761).
The number of new goods vehicles showed an even bigger drop - down 68% from 2008 to 10,051.
For December, the number of new cars licensed was 474, a drop of 28.9% from the same month last year.
The figures for 2009 are broadly in line with those from the motor industry released earlier this month, although they indicated a pick-up in sales in December. The motor industry is hoping the scrappage scheme introduced in the Budget will boost the sector this year.
