Brakes are on: New car sales plummet 64%

THE Irish car industry appears to be spluttering to a economy-induced halt, after figures revealed the number of new private vehicles licensed across the country has plummeted by 64%, or almost two-thirds, in just 12 months.

Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that in the first two months of this year car industry sales have really suffered, with 19,792 new private cars licensed in Ireland compared with a massive 57,251 vehicles in the same period last year.

The downturn has also been felt in wider car sales, with the number of second-hand and goods vehicles registered dropping drastically by almost two-thirds during the comparative periods.