Vehicle registrations surged by 25.8%

The Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) has released a report ‘Registration of Motor Vehicles’ for January-March 2024, highlighting a market where electric and hybrid cars, along with motor coaches, buses, and cargo-carrying vehicles are on the rise, while petrol and diesel cars, rental cars, and passenger saloon cars are experiencing a decline.

In March 2024, the total registrations of motor vehicles slightly declined by 0.7 per cent, totalling 4,238 compared to 4,270 in March 2023. Specifically, passenger saloon cars experienced a decrease of 4.8 per cent, falling to 3,316 from 3,484 in March 2023.

Focusing on the period from January to March 2024, a significant increase is observed as the total registrations of motor vehicles surged by 25.8 per cent to 12,827, up from 10,193 in the corresponding period of 2023.

This upward trend is also evident in the passenger saloon cars segment, which saw a rise of 23.3 per cent, with registrations climbing to 10,189 from 8,264. Of these, 4,465 (43.8 per cent) were new and 5,724 (56.2 per cent) were used cars. However, rental cars experienced a notable decline, falling by 22.3 per cent to 908.

Moreover, the fuel type preference among consumers is shifting. The proportion of petrol-powered passenger cars decreased to 49.2 per cent, down from 59.0 per cent in the previous year, while diesel-powered cars also saw a decrease to 9.9 per cent from 11.0 per cent.

Contrastingly, electric and hybrid cars are gaining popularity, with their shares increasing to 3.8 per cent (from 2.6 per cent) and 37.2 per cent (from 27.4 per cent), respectively.

In terms of larger vehicles, motor coaches and buses saw a remarkable increase, with registrations rising to 64 in the first quarter of 2024 from just 21 in the same period of 2023.

Cargo-carrying vehicles also showed robust growth, with a 40.4 per cent increase to 1,445, compared to 1,029 in the previous year. Specifically, light goods vehicles jumped by 44.9 per cent to 1,149, heavy goods vehicles by 4.8 per cent to 152, road tractors by 69.0 per cent to 49, and rental vehicles by 53.2 per cent to 95.

Finally, the smaller vehicle categories showed diverse trends. Mopeds with engines smaller than 50cc witnessed a substantial rise, with registrations increasing to 240 from 28 in the previous year. Meanwhile, mechanised cycles with engines larger than 50cc saw a marginal growth of 0.7 per cent, with registrations slightly increasing to 727 in January-March 2024 from 722 in the same period of 2023.