New vehicles post 20 pct monthly increase

Vehicle sales in Greece posted a 20.1 percent rise in August, as the number of vehicles that came into circulation on Greek roads for the first time amounted to 7,039 (new or used previously in another country), against 5,862 in July. This follows the 20.8 percent increase recorded in August 2014 from the year before, according to figures released by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT).

The increase in the number of new vehicles on the country’s roads is mostly attributed to the growth in tourism, as enterprises in the sector have sought to increase their fleets in view of the unexpectedly high flow of incoming tourists last month and this fall.

There were 18.8 percent more new cars this August than in the same month last year, while the number of new motorcycles increased by 7 percent year-on-year.

A total of 81,642 new vehicles on the Greek roads came onto Greek roads in the first eight months of the year, against 68,888 in the January-August 2014 period, posting an increase of 18.5 percent. However, in the first eight months of 2014 there had been an even greater annual increase, of 27.5 percent, on the back of last year’s growth prospects.