Motor vehicle registrations up across the board

Registrations of motor vehicles in March shot up compared to the same month last year, statistics released on Monday showed, although market watchers pointed out this related to orders placed by buyers last year.

Compared to the month of March 2022, total vehicle registrations this March were up 75.6 per cent – or 4,270 in absolute numbers. As for saloon cars, registrations were 83 per cent higher, again compared to March last year.

For the January to March period, the total number of registered vehicles came to 10,193 – a 29.5 per cent rise compared to the same period last year.

For the same period, saloon car registrations ticked up by 83 per cent. Of the saloon cars registered during the first three months of 2023, 51.5 per cent were second-hand.

Rental car registrations in January to March were up by 33.6 per cent, while bus registrations slowed down to 21 from 36 (in absolute numbers) in the corresponding period of 2022.

Registrations of heavy goods vehicles and truck tractors likewise saw an increase compared to the first three months of 2022.

And registrations of motorcycles (over 50 cc) were up 50.4 per cent in January to March 2023, compared to the same period last year.

But according to Brand Manager for Hyundai Cyprus Charalambos Papacharalambous, business as well as visits to showrooms are actually depressed.

He told the Stockwatch news outlet that in fact, the vehicle registrations now being published relate to orders made last year.

“Rising interest rates on loans, general uncertainty, and the increase in the price of essential goods, all make buyers very cautious,” he said.