40% fall in new-car registrations

The number of new private cars licensed in October was down more than 40% on the same time last year.

According to the latest figures from the CSO, there were 2,216 new cars licensed last month, compared to 3,742 in October 2010.

The number of new goods vehicles was also down on the previous year, by 9.3%.

Overall the total number of vehicles registered dropped from 8,698 in October 2010 to 7,678 last month, representing a decrease of 11.7%.