DUBLIN, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Sales of new vehicles went down while those of used ones went up in Ireland during the first half of this year, said the Irish national statistics bureau CSO on Monday.

According to the statistics released by the CSO, a total of 105,177 units of new vehicles were sold in the first six months of this year, down 3.2 percent over a year ago while the sales of used vehicles increased by 9.8 percent in the period to reach 63,845 units.

Of the total new vehicles sold in the period, new private cars accounted for 83,037 units, down 4.9 percent year-on-year, and goods vehicles accounted for 15,570 units, a 5 percent increase over a year ago.

The sales of used private cars accounted for 50,272 units of the total used vehicles sold in the country in the first half of this year, up 11.9 percent year-on-year, said the CSO, adding that the sales of used goods vehicles in the period also witnessed a 5.7 percent rise to reach 7,636 units.

Local media reports quoted traders as saying that the depreciation of British pounds against euros since it decided to leave the European Union (EU) is a major factor driving up the purchases of used vehicles by Irish consumers from the neighbouring country Britain.

Nearly all the used vehicles traded in Ireland were imported from Britain, according to reports.