In 2016 the number of scrapped vehicles reached a five-year high, but the benefits of having less-polluting cars on the roads were offset by a spike in the number of old cars which were back in circulation despite having been garaged for years.

According to the transport watchdog, however, this is no fluke, but the result of a concerted effort to trace owners of abandoned or garaged vehicles to regularise their position by putting them back on the road or scrapping them.

Figures released in the 2016 Transport Malta annual report show that 22,187 cars were scrapped during that year, which was three times as much as in 2015, and the highest number since 2012.

The move falls in line with efforts being made to modernise the fleet of cars on Maltese roads, primarily to reduce toxic emissions. As a matter of fact in 2016, one in every 12 cars pulled out from the roads and sent to a scrapyard was the result of a government scheme which cost taxpayers €1.4 million. It transpires that 1,761 owners benefited from a grant of up to €900 in order to replace their vehicle on condition this was at least 10 years old.

However, the other side of the coin is that in the same year, the number of de-garaged vehicles – cars which are once again on the roads after having been garaged for years – also reached a five-year high. According to official figures, in 2016 there were 19,369 de-garaged vehicles, which translated to a 63 per cent rise over the previous year.

A number of people scrapped their vehicles without telling the Authority

This newspaper sought an explanation from Transport Malta about the increase in the licensing of de-garaged vehicles, including the possibility that this could have been due to an increase in the registration of vintage cars.

In its reply the transport watchdog noted that in 2016 it had launched a scheme to regularise vehicles that had been disposed of without notifying the Authority.

“A number of people returned the registration plates of their vehicle, garaged it but then scrapped the vehicle without informing the Authority,” a spokesman said.

“Transport Malta sent letters to the owners to confirm whether the vehicle was still in their possession. The owners could present a sworn affidavit to de-register the vehicle,” he added.

The spokesman told this newspaper that the scheme had contributed significantly to the increase in the number of both the de-garaged and scrapped vehicles.

From a further analysis of the 2016 data, it transpires that the number of garaged vehicles – cars which were not scrapped but are no longer licenced to be on the road – dropped by 21 per cent over 2015 down to 7,223. The latter figure is the lowest since 2012.

Apart from incentives to purchase a less-polluting car, the government has also offered grants for the conversion of vehicles to LPG or autogas which are a cleaner form of fuel than petrol and diesel.

In 2016, 249 applicants benefitted from the €200 grant meaning that the scheme cost the exchequer €50,000.

Moreover, €200,000 were allocated by the government as grants of up to €3,000 on the purchase of new hybrid cars.

From a wider perspective in 2016, the number of newly registered cars increased by six per cent, compared to the previous year, to 22,784.

Furthermore, the number of road licences renewed was of 354,075, meaning that by the end of that year the number of licensed cars on the road was in excess of 376,000.

What about vehicles with the licence in arrears?

In 2016 the total revenue raised through a licence regularisation scheme was €414,216. A total of 2,073 vehicles benefitted from this, which on average translated to a modest €200 per car.

As for the total revenue from vehicles’ annual licence fees, there was a €3 million rise over 2015.