The NSO said that 73.4 per cent of these new licences belonged to private vehicles, amounting to a total of 2,155. The statistics showed that cars of less than 1300cc registered the highest increase and accounted for 1,048 of the new licences issued in this first quarter. 353 vehicles between 1450 and 1500cc were newly registered, said the NSO.

The total number of newly licensed motor vehicles showed a substantial 6.2 per cent increase when compared to the first three months of last year.

The NSO said that at the end of March the stock of all types of vehicles stood at 270,056. 75 per cent were private vehicles, while commercial vehicles accounted for 16.6 per cent of this amount.

The statistics issued showed that the stock of agriculture vehicles increased by 20 vehicles over the previous quarter. This stock also showed a 7.1 per cent increase when compared to the first quarter of last year, the NSO concluded.