According to the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) report ‘Registration of Motor Vehicles’ for the period January-February 2024, vehicle registrations increased by 45 per cent.

Furthermore, the share of electric vehicles has reached 3.1 per cent, and that of hybrid cars stands at 36.3 per cent.

In February 2024 alone, the total registrations of motor vehicles reached 4,346, marking an impressive increase of 55.5 per cent compared to the same month in 2023, which recorded 2,795 registrations. Notably, passenger saloon cars experienced a substantial rise of 50.5 per cent, reaching 3,443 registrations, compared to 2,287 in February 2023.

Moreover, total vehicle registrations surged by 45.0 per cent to 8,589 in January-February 2024, from 5,923 in January-February 2023. Specifically, passenger saloon cars saw a significant increase to 6,873 registrations from 4,780 in January to February 2023, marking a rise of 43.8 per cent. Among these, 44.1 per cent were new cars (3,028) while 55.9 per cent were used cars (3,845). However, rental cars experienced a decrease of 5.6 per cent, totalling 506 registrations.

Conversely, the share of petrol-powered passenger cars decreased to 50.3 per cent in January-February 2024 from 58.4 per cent in the same period of the preceding year, while diesel-powered cars dropped to 10.3 per cent from 11.4 per cent. On the other hand, electric cars’ share rose from 2.6 per cent to 3.1 per cent, and hybrid cars surged from 27.6 per cent to 36.3 per cent.

Additionally, buses saw a substantial increase, rising to 59 registrations in January-February 2024 from 15 in the corresponding period of 2023. Similarly, goods conveyance vehicles witnessed a notable uptick of 58.4 per cent, with a total of 966 registrations in January-February 2024 compared to 610 in January-February 2023. This included a 62.8 per cent increase in light goods vehicles, an 18.6 per cent increase in heavy goods vehicles, a 57.1 per cent increase in road tractors, and a doubling of rental vehicles to 66.

Finally, mopeds < 50cc registrations surged to 92 in January-February 2024 from 21 in the same period of the previous year. In addition, motorcycles > 50cc experienced a 21.3 per cent increase, reaching 484 registrations in January-February 2024 compared to 399 in the same period of 2023.

The Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) has also reported a rise in both the area and value of building permits in 2023.

In December 2023, municipal authorities and provincial administrations issued a total of 587 building permits.

Importantly, the total value of these permits reached €242.2 million, and the total area covered was 203.4 thousand square metres. With these permits, there is a plan to erect 942 residential units.

Furthermore, during the period from January to December 2023, a total of 7,170 building permits were issued.

This figure contrasts with the 7,604 issued in the corresponding period of the previous year, marking a decrease of 5.7 per cent.

Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that the total value of these licenses saw a significant increase of 16.4 per cent, and the total area covered by these permits increased by 4.3 per cent. Moreover, the number of residential units planned showed an increase of 12.2 per cent.

The Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) experienced losses on Monday.

Consequently, the General Index of the CSE closed at 146.12 points, marking a decline of 0.83 per cent.

Similarly, the FTSE/CySE 20 Index closed at 88.76 points, with losses amounting to 0.85 per cent.

In the realm of individual shares, Demetra Holdings witnessed a decrease in its share value, closing at €0.88, which represents a drop of 1.12 per cent and a transaction volume of €520.3 thousand. Moreover, the Bank of Cyprus share also experienced a decline, closing at €3.59 with a drop of 0.83 per cent and a trading volume of €50.4 thousand.

Additionally, Hellenic concluded the day at €2.48, experiencing losses of 0.4 per cent.

The daily transaction volume for the market amounted to €637.3 thousand, highlighting the overall downward trend in the trading session.