New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the number of new cars licensed in July of this year fell by 11.3% from the same time last year.
The CSO said that 6,164 new private cars were licensed in July 2012, down from the figure of 6,953 in July 2011.
Today's figures also show that the number of new goods vehicles sold last month increased by 13.5% to 1,016 from 895.
22% of the new cars sold last month were petrol while over 76% were diesel, according to a breakdown of the figures.
The CSO said that the number of new vehicles sold this year so far is down 12.1% on the same time last year. A total of 78,779 vehicles were sold in the months from January to July of this year compared to 89,600 the same time last year.
Volkswagen was the most popular brand of new car sold in July, followed by Ford, Toyota and Renault.
