Official figures show that growth in new car sales slowed in March, though the figures for the first three months are still well ahead of the same period last year.
The Central Statistics Office said 12,390 new cars were licensed in March, up just 0.1% from the same month last year. For the first three months of this year, new car sales are running 14.3% ahead of the same period last year.
Car sales have been boosted since early last year by the introduction of a scrappage scheme, which runs out at the end of June.
Of the 12,390 new cars last month, 28% were petrol and 69% diesel. Toyota led the way with 1,551, followed by Volkswagen (1,463), Renault (1,422) and Ford (1,191).
The CSO said the number of new goods vehicles licensed in March fell by 6.8% from a year earlier to 19,307.
