The number of new cars licenced last month fell by 73.1 per cent compared to July 2008, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Overall, there were 4,355 new private cars licenced in July 2009, a fall of 11,820 on the same month a year earlier when 16,175 cars were licensed.
The number of new goods vehicles licensed during last month was 839 versus 2,377 in the corresponding month last year, a decrease of 64.7 per cent.
The total number of all vehicles licensed in July 2009 was 12,411, a decline of 59 per cent compared to the 30,245 vehicles licensed for the same month a year earlier.
Of the 4,355 new private cars licensed last month, 1,923 were petrol and 2,377 were diesel.
The highest number of new private cars licensed in July 2009, classified by make, was Volkswagen (617) followed by Ford (602), Opel (482), Toyota (436) and Audi (387).
