Latest figures show New car registrations posted their first calendar-year decline in a decade last year as tailwinds supporting earlier record sales subsided

154,479 new passenger and commercial vehicles were registered last year, down from a record 161,519 in 2018.

It's the first annual decline since 2009, when new car sales plummeted 28 percent as the local economy tanked amid the global financial crisis.

Motor Industry Association chief executive David Crawford says it comes after five consecutive record years of sales

The local market continued to be dominated by utes, with the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux the top two selling vehicles last year.