Car purchases show significant drop year-on-year
New car registrations posted a considerable 30.8 percent decline on a yearly basis in the first eight months of 2010, according to figures released yesterday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT). In the same period last year, the annual decline was 19.1 percent. In the January-August period 149,371 cars took to Greek roads for the first time, 23,446 having been used abroad first. August alone saw a dramatic 66.1 percent fall. The drop was even greater for secondhand cars, which registered an even greater fall of 32.2 percent year-on-year in the first eight months of the year. A total of 14.3 percent fewer truckswere purchased, while the drop for coaches came in at 60.2 percent. Motorcycles were doing better by comparison, as there were 13.8 percent fewer units this year to August 31 annually against a drop of 29.8 percent in the same period last year.
