Filenews 9 August 2022 - by Theano Thiopoulou
Sales of electric cars have started compared to last year, but they still have a long way to go to reach a satisfactory level and gain a significant share of conventional sales. One of the main obstacles is the fact that there is not enough infrastructure with chargers and prices are quite high, although there are subsidy plans from the state.
According to the data announced yesterday by the Statistical Service, the sales of electric cars in the period January – July 2022 were 443 (66 used and 377 new) compared to 207 last year (26 used and 181 new) presenting an increase of 114%. The total car registration in the seven months of the year was 20,685 from 22,074 last year showing a decrease of 6.29%.
Cypriots may say they will choose either a hybrid or an electric car the next time they buy a vehicle, but it seems that it will take several years before gasoline or diesel vehicles can be significantly reduced. The sales of hybrid vehicles in the seven months of the year were 3,711 (66 used, 2,663 new) from 2,554, recording an increase of 45.30%.
The total of gasoline cars sold in the seven months of the year was 12,425 and of diesel cars 4,104. Despite the fact that fuel prices are soaring and the use of conventional cars is an expensive affair, however, the high selling prices of electric cars and the lack of many charging points discourage potential buyers. However, The Minister of Transport Giannis Karousos had mentioned that the ministry's goal is that by 2035 all new car registrations will be for electric cars.
In July 2022, the total registrations of motor vehicles reached 2,988, recording a decrease of 13,2% compared to 3,443 in July 2021. Saloon passenger car registrations decreased by 14.2% to 2,326 from 2,712 in July 2021. Registrations of saloon passenger cars decreased by 3,3% to reach 16,427, compared to 16,979 in the corresponding period of 2021. Of the total saloon passenger cars, 7,240 or 44.1% were new and 9,187 or 55.9% were used cars. Rental cars in particular showed an increase of 86.2% to 2,878.
Bus registrations increased to 47 in the period January-July 2022, from 38 in the same period of 2021. The registrations of cargo vehicles decreased to 2,252 in the period January-July 2022, compared to 2,535 in the corresponding period of 2021, recording a decrease of 11,2%. Specifically, light trucks decreased by 2.8% to 1,812, heavy trucks by 26.5% to 230, road tractors (tugs) by 61.7% to 49 and rental vehicles by 29.7% to 161. Moped registrations < 50 cc increased to 179 in the period January-July 2022, compared to 166 in the same period of 2021. Motorcycle registrations > 50 cc decreased by 25,6% to 1,562 in the period January-July 2022, compared to 2,100 in the same period of 2021.
