The number of new private cars licensed for the first time fell again in July as imports continued to rise, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office.
A total of 18,741 new private cars were licensed in July, a decrease of 9.7%.
Over 9,200 used imported cars were licensed, up 12.2% on the same month last year, as a weaker sterling continues to make it more attractive to buy and import vehicles from the UK.
In the first seven months of 2019, 96,380 new private cars were licensed, a decrease of 7.1% compared with the same period last year. The number of used imported private cars licensed increased by 4.1% compared with the same period in 2018.
Interest in electric and hybrid cars continues to grow. Those vehicles accounted for over 10% of all private cars licensed in the first seven months of 2019, compared with 6.6% in the same period in 2018.
Diesel vehicles accounted for 46.5% of all new private cars licensed in the first seven months of the year, compared with 54% in the same period last year.
Toyota was the most popular make of car bought in July, followed by Volkswagen, Hyundai, Skoda and Ford.
There was a 9.1% increase in the number of new goods vehicles licensed in July bringing the total to 2,736.
