The number of new cars licensed in Ireland last month was almost half the figure for the same month last year. The Central Statistics Office says 2,272 new private cars were licensed in September 2009, compared with 4,364 in September 2008. Around three-fifths of those cars were diesel-engine vehicles and the vast majority of the other two-fifths were petrol-powered. The most popular models were Fords, followed by Toyotas, Volkswagens, Opels and Nissans.