[WATCH] Second hand cars remain king of the road

73 cars per day added to Malta's roads between July and September

There were 73 vehicles per day added to Malta’s road network in the third quarter, with a majority of them being passenger cars, figures out today show.

From the 6,680 newly licensed vehicles put on the road between July and September, 4,519, or 68%, were passenger cars.

The statistics continue to confirm that Maltese motorists prefer second hand vehicles. Of the newly registered vehicles in the third quarter, 56% were second hand, the bulk being passenger cars.

So far, from the 20,645 vehicles added to the network since the beginning of the year, 55% were second hand.

The NSO figures show that the stock of licenced vehicles stood at 394,955 at the end of September, a 3% increase on the same quarter last year.

Passenger cars made up 78% of the total stock, 14% were commercial vehicles, and 8% were motorcycles and quad bikes.

Buses and minibuses amounted to less than 1%. There were 462 route buses, and 414 coaches by the end of September.

During the third quarter, 7,051 vehicles were taken off the roads due to a restriction but 3,574 vehicles had their restriction ending during the same period.

Petrol, diesel and electric

Of all vehicles on the road at the end of September, 60% had petrol-powered engines, while 39% had diesel engines.

Electric and hybrid vehicles accounted for 0.9% of the entire stock, with a total of 3,708 vehicles.

When compared to the same period last year, increases of 164%, 77%, and 57% were registered in the electric, hybrid/diesel and hybrid/petrol vehicles.