Hybrids tighten lead in Cyprus as petrol car registrations fall

Hybrid cars made up more than half of Cyprus’ passenger saloon car market in the first quarter of 2026, tightening their lead as petrol cars continued to lose ground, while electric vehicles remained stuck below 5 per cent.  

According to the Statistical Service’s January-March 2026 motor vehicle data (Cystat), hybrid saloon cars accounted for 50.3 per cent of registrations, up from 42.9 per cent in the same period last year, while electric cars held steady at 4.9 per cent.  

Of the 10,627 passenger saloon cars registered between January and March, 5,342 were hybrids.

Petrol-powered cars saw their share fall to 36 per cent from 43.2 per cent a year earlier, while diesel slipped marginally to 8.8 per cent from 9 per cent.

The same official release also showed that total motor vehicle registrations rose 12.9 per cent in the quarter, while passenger saloon car registrations increased 10.9 per cent, pointing to firmer overall demand as buyers continued to shift towards hybrid models.  

Toyota recorded 1,966 hybrid saloon car registrations in the first quarter, followed by Nissan with 606. Mercedes ranked third with 247, ahead of BMW with 223 and Honda with 221.

What is more, Mazda, Lexus, Volvo, Hyundai and Renault also featured in the top ten.

In new hybrid saloon cars, Toyota again led with 248 registrations, narrowly ahead of Nissan with 238.

Mercedes followed with 161, then BMW with 134 and Hyundai with 129. Renault, Jeep, Land Rover, BYD and Dacia completed the top ten.

Electric cars, by contrast, remained a small part of the market despite some brand gains. Cyprus registered 521 electric saloon cars in the first quarter, of which 425 were new and 96 were used.

BYD led the segment with 138 registrations, followed by Kia with 61, BMW with 32, Mercedes with 30 and Hyundai with 26.

That leaves Cyprus behind the broader European Union market on fully electric vehicles, even though it is ahead on hybrids.

According to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, battery-electric vehicles accounted for 18.8 per cent of new EU car registrations in January-February 2026, while hybrid-electric vehicles held the biggest share at 38.7 per cent.

Cyprus is moving quickly towards lower-emission cars, but mainly through hybrids rather than full electrification.

That is also in line with the longer-term European shift away from diesel.

Eurostat said registrations of new battery-only electric cars in the EU were 45 times higher in 2024 than in 2014, while diesel registrations fell sharply over the same period.