Hybrid sales up 37% in Jan-Oct

Two in every five cars registered in Cyprus this year are either electric vehicles or hybrids, with these engine types showing a healthy increase, while the share of petrol-powered vehicles dipped below 50% for the first time ever.

Despite an annual increase of 11.5% for the industry, October was a slow month, according to the statistical service.

Total registrations of all motor vehicles dropped 2.7% year-on-year from 4,223 to 4,111, while passenger saloon cars registered a fall of 8.9% from 3,398 in October 2023 to 3,096.

According to the Cystat data, total registrations of motor vehicles in the ten months of the year increased by 11.5% to 42,930, from 38,503 in January-October 2023, driven mainly by hybrids.

Passenger saloon cars increased to 33,440, from 30,897 in January-October 2023, a rise of 8.2%. Of the these, 13,308 or 39.8% were new and 20,132 or 60.2% were used cars. Rental cars in particular recorded a year-on-year fall of 29.5% to 3,637.

The share of petrol powered passenger cars decreased in January-October to 49.5%, from 58.9% in the same period last year, and that of diesel powered cars to 10.0% in 2024 from 10.1% in 2023.

On the other hand, the share of electric cars rose, from 2.6% in 2023 to 3.8% in 2024, and of hybrid cars, from 28.3% to 36.7%.

Motor coaches and buses dropped from 279 in January-October 2023 to 125 in the same period this year.

Goods conveyance vehicles (trucks, vans) increased by 31.2% to 4,823 in January-October, compared to 3,676 the same period last year. In particular, light goods vehicles increased by 34.2% to 3,855, heavy goods vehicles by 29.7% to 576, road tractors (units of trailers) by 57.9% to 199, while rental vehicles decreased by 17.5% to 193.

Mopeds of up to 50cc registered increased to 627 in January-October 2024 compared to 263 in the same period the previous year.

Motor cycles larger than 50cc increased by 14.4% to 3,348 in January-October 2024, compared to 2,927 in the same period last year.