Private car sales remained relatively unchanged for July 2005, with a 0.05 per cent increase on the same period last year.
New data from the Central Statistics Office revealed that there were 14,149 new private cars licensed in July 2005, compared with 14,141 in July 2004.
Most buyers opted for Toyota models, with 1,900 new private cars licensed over the month. Ford ranked second, with 1,693, while Nissan, Volkswagen and Opel completed the top five.
Licensing of new goods vehicles increased 16.3 per cent to 3,271. There were a total of 18,729 new vehicles licensed during July, a 1.6 per cent increase from the same month in 2004.
However, first licensing of second-hand private cars was up 88.4 per cent, increasing by 1,602 on the previous year's figures.
The total number of vehicles licensed in July increased 9.7 per cent when compared with 2004.