Motor vehicle registrations in Cyprus dropped 4.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2025, compared to the same period last year, despite a rise in March, according to data released by the Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) on Wednesday.

A total of 12,256 vehicles were registered between January and March 2025, down from 12,827 in the same period of 2024.

However, March saw a 4.3 per cent increase year-on-year, with 4,422 vehicles registered, up from 4,238 in March 2024.

Passenger saloon car registrations fell by 5.9 per cent in the first quarter, totalling 9,585 compared to 10,189 a year earlier.

Of these, 4,448 (46.4 per cent) were new cars, while 5,137 (53.6 per cent) were used.

Notably, rental saloon cars saw a 13.1 per cent rise, reaching 1,027.

The shift towards greener vehicles continued, with the share of petrol-powered saloons dropping to 43.2 per cent from 49.2 per cent in the same period last year.

Diesel models also declined slightly, accounting for 9 per cent of the total, down from 9.9 per cent.

Meanwhile, electric cars rose to 4.9 per cent from 3.8 per cent, and hybrids climbed from 37.2 per cent to 42.9 per cent.

Registrations of motor coaches and buses dropped by 40.6 per cent year-on-year, falling to 38 vehicles in the first quarter from 64 in the same period of 2024.

Goods vehicles remained broadly stable, up 0.2 per cent to 1,448. Light goods vehicles rose by 4.7 per cent to 1,203, while heavy goods vehicles fell by 1.3 per cent to 150.

The number of road tractors dropped 10.2 per cent to 44, and rental goods vehicles plunged by 46.3 per cent to 51.

There was a sharp drop in registrations of mopeds under 50cc, which fell to just 60 from 240 a year earlier.

In contrast, larger motorbikes over 50cc saw strong growth, rising 33.8 per cent to 973.