No let-up in car registrations

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After what appeared to be a slowdown in motor vehicle registrations in December and January, motor vehicle registrations resumed their year-on-year climb in February, rising by 27% compared with February 2004. Passenger car registrations rose by 39.6% year on year, having recorded a decline of 2.3%year on year in January.

For the whole of 2004, total car registrations rose by 33.9%, while private saloon cars rose by 46.3%.

It seems, therefore, that consumers have not let up their thirst for new number plates since the cut in excise duties in November 2003, which slashed the price of a range of cars by as much as 20%.

Empirical evidence suggests that BMWs has been the brand of choice, with what seems like every third car on the streets of Nicosia now sporting the brand.

The closure of the Mitsubishi showroom on Griva Digeni in Nicosia indicates how fast gas-guzzling four-wheel drives have gone our of favour, having seen an excise duty increase.

Fiona Mullen