In August, vehicle registrations in Iceland fell by 67.8% with respect to August of 2008. In total, 170 cars were registered and 3,080 new cars were sold in the last twelve months, 79.76% less than the year before.
The breakdown of car sales figures for the month of August is:
- Commercial vehicles sold: 35, 64.65% less than in August of 2008.
- Passenger cars regitrations: 135, which represents a figure of 68.53% less than in August of 2008.
Iceland is the 122th-placed country in ranking of 135 countries based on number of vehicle registrations.
A very useful variable for estimating the level of economic wealth enjoyed by Icelanders residents, when compared to the other countries in the ranking, is the number of vehicles sold or registered per thousand residents in the last year. With annual sales of 9.64 cars per 1,000 residents, 0.53 of them in the last month, Iceland, occupies 50th place in the ranking.
As can be seen, the number of registrations per thousand residents has fallen in the last year. A drop in registrations generally indicates a fall in consumer confidence and, when it is sustained, a recession in the real economy.
Changes in Icelandic vehicle registration numbers are shown in the tables below. As several studies indicate, these changes are very much related to changes in GDP and, hence, to a country's economic situation. Sales have declined since 1999, as 17,413 were registered that year, as have the number of registrations per thousand residents, which that year numbered 63.16.
Here we show you the progression of vehicle registrations in Iceland. You can see car registrations in other countries in en vehicle registrations and see all the economic information about Iceland in en Icelandic economy.