Cyprus car registrations: what is the trend?

Motor vehicle registrations in Cyprus have taken an erratic path this year, making it difficult to assess the overall trend.
Registrations have fallen in some months have risen at double digits rates in other months.
September was no exception. Motor vehicle registrations rose by 31.9% compared with September 2007, having fallen by 6.0% in August, risen by 18.2% in July and fallen by 2.2% in June.
This compares with 11 straight quarters of double-digit increases in 2007, largely owing to cuts in car taxes.
The pattern is not unlike building permits in Cyprus, which displayed the same erratic pattern for around a year between mid-2006 and mid-2007 until a clear downward trend was established that has yet to be reversed.
Given the tightening global conditions for credit, the same may be in store for car sales.
On a year-to-date basis, registrations are definitely growing less quickly than last year.
In the period January-September, motor registrations rose by 6.7% compared with the same period of 2007, whereas for the whole of 2007, motor registrations rose by 33.1%.
Registrations of private saloon cars rose in January-September by 3.7%.

Fiona Mullen
www.sapientaeconomics.com