Car sales hit brakes: Fall in new vehicles sold in January

The number of new private cars sold fell almost 14pc yearon-year in January.

New CSO figures show 3,534 fewer cars were licensed compared to the same month last year, with January a crucial time for sellers of new cars.

The drop chimes with industry warnings about a recent influx of used imports from the UK, given the weakness of sterling.

The number of used private cars licensed in the month rose 1.3pc year-on-year. Hyundai was the most popular make of new private car licensed followed by Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen and Nissan. Those five accounted for 51.9pc of all new private cars licensed in January 2019.

Meanwhile, slumping sales at Britain’s biggest carmaker, Jaguar Land Rover (pictured), caused shares in Indian parent Tata Motors to plunge as much as 30pc in Mumbai yesterday after it reported a loss of $3.8bn (€3.3bn) in the quarter ended December.