There were 17,215 new private cars licensed this April compared with 19,027 in the same month last year, CSO figures show. The data represents a of 9.5 per cent.
In the first four months of 2002, there were 72,758 new private cars licensed, a decrease of 9 per cent on the corresponding period last year.
First licensing of second-hand private cars decreased by 239 (-17.7 per cent) on the same month last year and decreased by 1,328 (-23 per cent) in the year to date.
New goods vehicles licensed increased by 146 (4.8 per cent) in April, when compared with April, 2001, and decreased by 1,748 (-13.3 per cent) in the first four months of 2002 by comparison with the same period last year.
The vehicle licensing figures also show that in the period January-April 2002, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 98,529 compared with 109,356 in the same period last year, a decrease of 9.9 per cent.
The highest number of new private cars licensed in April, classified by make are Volkswagen (2,064) followed by Toyota (1,931), Nissan (1,910), Ford (1,736), Renault (1,445) and Opel (1,262).