In the first two months, car sales continued on their downward spiral that started two years ago, compounded when the coronavirus pandemic struck the industry in 2020.
According to the Cyprus Statistical Services data, car registrations in February alone dropped by 16.2% to 2,478 compared to 2,957 in the same month last year.
In January, the overall annual drop was 17.9%, although there was no pandemic in the same month last year.
New vehicle registrations in February fell 10.8% to 921 from 1,033 last year. Used cars fell 19.1% with 1,557 registrations down from 1,924 in 2020.
In the first two months, January-February 2021, the registrations of saloon passenger cars decreased by 17.1% to 5,229, from 6,309 in the same period of 2020.
Of total saloon car registrations, 1,777 or 34% were new, and the overwhelming majority, 3,452 or 66%, were used cars.
Struck by the pandemic and national lockdowns, car importers suffered their worst year since 2016, with registrations in 2020 declining 18.4%, to 30,828, form 37,802.
And 2020 was the second year running that passenger car sales were in negative territory.
Overall, in 2020, Cyprus vehicle registrations recorded a 16.1% dip, with passenger car sales down by 7,000.
Passenger saloon car sales decreased to 30,828 from 37,802 in 2019, recording a fall of 18.4% (sales were down 7% the year prior).
Last year, total passenger saloon cars, 10,237 or 33.2%, were new, and 20,591 or 66.8% were used.
Source: Financial Mirror
