14.2% drop in newly licensed vehicles last year

The number of newly licensed vehicles last year dropped by 14.2% when compared to 2009, official figures show.

Just half of the newly-licensed vehicles were brand new, with the rest being used (imported) vehicles.

The National Statistics Office said that at the end of 2010, the stock of licensed vehicles was 304,705, of which just over 76% were private cars. There were 297,776 vehicles at the end of 2009.

16,064 vehicles were newly licensed last year, of which 5,574 were brand new and 10,490 were used.

In 2010 13,869 cars were removed from the roads (having had their licence removed or having been scrapped or exported) compared to 15,552 in 2009.

The NSO said that during the fourth quarter of last year, 3,967 new licences were issued, of which 3,311 were for private vehicles. Just a third of new licences were issued to brand new vehicles. new licen