More motorists choose used cars

At the end of June 2012, the stock of licensed motor vehicles stood at 314,299, up by 1.9 per cent when compared to last year.

Of these, 79.4 per cent were passenger cars, 14.5 per cent were commercial vehicles, five per cent were motorcycles, while buses and minibuses accounted for less than one per cent.

New licences issued during the period under review amounted to 4,301. The majority of new licences (3,448 or 80.2 per cent of the total) were issued to passenger cars, followed by goods carrying vehicles with 393.

Newly-licensed 'new' motor vehicles amounted to 1,881, or 43.7 per cent of the total, and newly licensed 'used' motor vehicles totalled 2,420.

In the second quarter this year, 54 vehicles were exported. Garaged vehicles amounted to 2,211, while scrapped vehicles totalled 2,693.

As at the end of the second quarter, 193,549 vehicles, or 61.6 per cent of the total, had petrol engines. Vehicles with diesel engines totalled 120,303, or 38.3 per cent of the total.