In May, vehicle registrations in Iceland fell by 3.91% with respect to May of 2012. In total, 1,547 cars were registered and 8,628 new cars were sold in the last twelve months, 23.43% more than the year before.
The breakdown of car sales figures for the month of May is:
- Commercial vehicles sold: 123, 66.22% more than in May of 2012.
- Passenger cars regitrations: 1,424, which represents a figure of 7.29% less than in May of 2012.
Iceland is the 99th-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 26.81 cars per 1,000 residents, 4.81 of them in the last month, Iceland, occupies 24th 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 2003, as 9,209 were registered that year, as have the number of registrations per thousand residents, which that year numbered 31.92.
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.