The number of new vehicles licensed in September was down 37.6 per cent compared to the same month a year earlier, according to new Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures.
Overall, there were 8,914 new vehicles licensed for the first time last month, down from 14,292 in September 2008.
A total of 2,272 new private cars were licensed last month, a 47.9 per cent drop on the same month a year earlier. Almost 60 per cent of all new cars licensed were diesel.
In addition, 777 new goods vehicles were licensed last month, a 46.5 per cent decline on September 2008.
Ford was the most popular make of car licensed for the first time last month followed by Toyota, Volkswagen, Open and Nissan.
