New car sales fell for the third consecutive month in March, with sales for last month 7.5% lower when compared with the same period in 2016.
The figures, from vehicle history check website Motorcheck, also show car sales for the first quarter of the year are running 8.3% behind the same timeframe last year.
75,900 new cars have been sold so far in 2017, down from 82,800 for the first three months of 2016.
A drop-off in sales this year had been expected, after exceptionally strong 2016 figures for the sector when there was a 30% annual rise in new car sales.
The top selling manufacturers so far this year are Toyota, Ford, and Volkswagen, while the models with the most sales are the Hyundai Tucson, the Nissan Qashqai, and the Ford Focus.
However, the near 15% fall in the value of sterling in the past nine months as a result of Brexit has seen a spike in UK imports, which has also impacted new car sales.
With 23,800 units, used vehicle imports into Ireland during the first three months of the year jumped by 56% when compared with the first quarter of 2016.
Commenting on the figures, Motorcheck Managing Director Michael Rochford said: "The industry is coming off three years of sustained annual growth with 30% year-on-year increases becoming commonplace.
"This was never going to be sustained into the future and it was felt that this year would see a levelling off in sales.
"The dip in sales is largely down to uncertainty in the economy caused by Brexit, whilst the strength of the euro against sterling has made it very attractive to import used vehicles from the UK and consequently many people are opting for a nearly new import rather than a brand-new vehicle".
However, the Society of the Irish Motor Industry said the market is showing sings of recovery in the lead-up to Easter.
SIMI Director General, Alan Nolan said: ”We have previously indicated that the extent of the apparent fall in registrations over recent weeks were at least in part a question of timing, as in 2016 Easter had fallen in March with the result that the seasonal registration of hire-drive fleets was always going to be later this year.
"With these starting to come through in the last few days of the month we have seen the figures start to improve but clearly the trend is indicating a reduction on last year’s market.
"Although the Irish Economy is flying at the moment the car market also requires positive consumer sentiment, which peaked in the early part of 2016, but has, according to the ESRI, been edging slightly lower, in a ‘one step forward two steps back’ process since then."
