By the end of March 2018, the stock of licensed motor vehicles stood at 375,041, an increase of 3.7 per cent over the same quarter in 2017, the NSO said today.

Motor Vehicles: Q1/2018

Administrative data obtained from Transport Malta shows that, by the end of March this year, the stock of licensed motor vehicles stood at 375,041. Out of this total, 78.3 per cent were passenger cars, 13.6 per cent were commercial vehicles, 7.0 per cent were motorcycles/quadricycles and All Terrain Vehicle’s (ATV), while buses and minibuses amounted to less than one per cent. During this quarter, the stock of licensed vehicles increased at a net average rate of 33 vehicles per day.

New licences

New licences issued during the period under review amounted to 6,573. The majority of new licences,

5,022 or 76.4 per cent of the total, were issued for passenger cars; followed by goods-carrying vehicles with 764 or 11.6 per cent. Newly-licensed ‘new’ motor vehicles amounted to 2,871 or 43.7 per cent of the total, whereas newly licensed ‘used’ motor vehicles totalled 3,702 or 56.3 per cent. An average of 73 vehicles per day were newly licensed during the quarter under review.

Out of action

During the first quarter of this year, 7,531 vehicles were taken off the roads due to a restriction. Out of these, 39.0 per cent were put for resale, 30.8 per cent were scrapped, while garaged vehicles amounted to 28.1 per cent. Vehicles that had their restriction ending during the quarter under review totalled 3,908.

The majority were recorded as being for resale (2,708) or garaged (1,163).

Engine type

As at the end of March this year, 226,083 vehicles or 60.3 per cent of the total, were running on petrol engines. Vehicles having diesel engines reached 146,192 or 39.0 per cent of the total. Electric and hybrid vehicles still accounted for less than 0.5 per cent of the entire stock, with a total of 1,426 circulating on our roads.