The number of licensed motor vehicles decreased by 117 in the first three months of this year compared to the previous quarter, the first such drop in years.

The NSO did not give any reason, but Transport Malta restricted licensing facilities at its offices in the second half of March due to COVID-19.

The NSO said that at the end of March, the stock of licensed motor vehicles stood at 397,391.

Out of this total, 77.1 per cent were passenger cars, 13.8 per cent were commercial motor vehicles, 8.0 per cent were motorcycles/quadricycles and All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs), while buses and minibuses amounted for less than one per cent.

During the quarter under review, the stock of licensed motor vehicles decreased at a net average rate of one motor vehicle per day when compared to the previous quarter.

Newly licensed ‘new’ motor vehicles amounted to 2,207 or 41.9 per cent of the total, whereas newly licensed ‘used’ motor vehicles totalled 3,062 or 58.1 per cent. An average of 58 motor vehicles per day were newly licensed during the quarter under review.

8,670 motor vehicles were taken off the roads between January and March. Out
of these, 46.8 per cent were garaged, 27.3 per cent were put up for resale, while 23.6 per cent were scrapped.  

As at the end of March this year, 236,274 motor vehicles or 59.5 per cent of the total had petrol engines. Diesel-powered motor vehicles reached 154,634 or 38.9 per cent of the total. Electric and hybrid motor vehicles accounted for 1.2 per cent of the entire stock, with a total of 4,803 motor vehicles.

When compared to the previous quarter, increases of 6.6 per cent, 14.3 per cent and 7.0 per cent were registered in the electric, hybrid/diesel and hybrid/petrol motor vehicles.