More cars on the road

The stock of licensed motor vehicles at the end of the second quarter this year stood at 308,554.

The National Statistics Office said that at the end of the second quarter, there was a net increase of 2,783 vehicles over the first quarter. Of these, 76.6 per cent were private vehicles, while commercial vehicles accounted for 15.6 per cent.

New licences issued during the period under review amounted to 5,304, up by 18 per cent compared to the previous quarter.

Private vehicles accounted for 3,849 new licences, or 72.6 per cent of the total.

The majority of new licences - 1,392, were issued to private vehicles within 'Class 1' (<1300 cc), followed by vehicles in 'Class 5' (1801-2000 cc) with 667.

Newly-licensed 'new' motor vehicles amounted to 2,474, or 46.6 per cent of the total, while newly licensed 'used' motor vehicles totalled 2,830.

In the second quarter of 2011, 19 vehicles were exported.

Vehicles no longer licensed for use on the road, excluding those which have been scrapped or exported, amounted to 2,290, of which 61.4 per cent were private vehicles.