Vehicle registrations in Cyprus witnessed an extraordinary surge during the first seven months of the year, with a notable 27.9 per cent increase in overall registrations between January to July 2023.

The figures, released by the statistical service on Tuesday, reveal that the total number of registered vehicles reached an impressive 26,462, compared to 20,685 during the same period in 2022.

The statistics show that passenger car registrations have contributed significantly to this surge, experiencing an impressive 28.9 per cent increase. The number of registered passenger cars soared to 21,178, a significant leap from the 16,427 registered during the corresponding period in 2022.

Within the realm of passenger cars, it was noted that out of the total registered vehicles, 43.6 per cent (9,231) were brand new, while 56.4 per cent (11,947) were used vehicles.

Particularly noteworthy was the remarkable increase of 37.7 per cent in the registrations of rental cars, reaching a total of 3,962.

Furthermore, the realm of public transportation has also witnessed growth, with bus registrations jumping from 47 in the January-July 2022 period to 211 in the same period of 2023.

Similarly, registrations for freight vehicles experienced an 11.5 per cent increase, totalling 2,512 compared to the 2,252 registered during the previous year.

This category includes a 7.9 per cent increase in light trucks (1,955), a substantial 33.5 per cent increase in heavy-duty trucks (307), a 51 per cent surge in road tractors (74), and a 9.3 per cent rise in rental vehicles (176).

In a contrasting trend, the registrations for motorcycles with an engine displacement of less than 50cc decreased to 162 during January-July 2023, down from 179 during the same period in 2022.

However, registrations for motorcycles with engine displacements greater than 50cc experienced a remarkable 33.8 per cent increase, reaching 2,090 compared to the 1,562 registered during the same period in 2022.

July 2023, in particular, demonstrated unprecedented growth in vehicle registrations, with a remarkable 48.6 per cent increase compared to the previous year.

The total number of registered vehicles for July 2023 reached 4,441, compared to 2,988 in July 2022.

The surge was most prominent in passenger car registrations, which jumped by an astonishing 53.8 per cent to reach 3,578 registrations, a substantial increase from the 2,326 recorded in July 2022.