Canary Islands report surge in car registrations, risking more traffic jams

A 163 per cent increase in new car registrations was recorded on La Gomera in July. As it is a small island, a relatively small number of vehicles is enough to account for this surge. Nevertheless, the Canary Islands are also experiencing an upward trend in general.

The Canary Islands Institute of Statistics (ISTAC) recorded 8,825 vehicles registered for the first time in the Canary Islands. Of these, 6,141 were cars, accounting for two-thirds of the new registrations. These were followed by 2,700 motorbikes, commercial vehicles and lorries. ISTAC combines these figures into a single total.

A month earlier, the picture in the Canary Islands had been completely different: at that time, the islands reported a significant drop in new vehicle registrations. Only one island had bucked this trend. In July, the trend changed once again – and on several islands:

Tourism boosts car sales

Lanzarote, too, saw a noticeable increase: 41.7 per cent more new vehicles were registered there. In total, this amounted to 849 vehicles that had not previously been registered in the Canary Islands.

Tourism is considered the main driver of new car registrations. Since the end of the global health crisis, dozens of new car hire companies have entered the market on the islands. To build up and expand their fleets, hundreds of cars were brought to the Canary Islands and registered there for the first time. Nevertheless, this sector is also undergoing change (more on this in the article below).

In addition to purchases of new cars, the used car trade in the Canary Islands also picked up last year. Here, too, car hire companies were seen as a key driver.

The private market had less of an impact on the overall figure. There was greater demand for petrol cars and significantly less for diesel vehicles. However, car hire companies also benefited from subsidies, which led to increased sales of second-hand cars.