With 151,624 units sold, a drop of almost a fifth over 2007, the 2008 car market was at its lowest level since 2003, according to official figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry.
Toyota was the biggest selling brand in passenger car sales, with 14 percent of the market from Ford at 12.6 percent, Volkswagen at 10.4 percent and GM Opel at 8.3 percent.
When sales of light commercial vehicles are added to the total, Ford was the biggest selling brand for the combined figures.
The total number of LCVs sold was 33,868.
Ford managed a hat-trick of segment leads with the Focus (compact), Mondeo (family) and Galaxy (MPV).
