Car sales fell 3.4 per cent in March compared with the same month last year, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
When compared with a fall of 8.8 per cent in February, the figure indicates the decline in car sales over the past year is easing.
The CSO said 21,393 new cars were licensed in March. The total number of all vehicles licensed in the first quarter of 2002 was 74,276, a fall of 10.9 per cent on the corresponding period last year.
Second-hand car sales for the month fell by 30 per cent when compared with the same month last year.