More new private cars have been registered with the Department of Land Transport (DLT) in the past six months than in the same period of last year, though there were fewer registrations of new motorcycles and public vehicles, according to the department.
From January to June, the number of private cars and other transport vehicles with red number plates, allocated to brand-new vehicles which obtain registration, totalled 1,615,524, said DLT deputy director-general Janthira Buruspat.
The breakdown is: 405,203 private cars with up to seven seats, up 8% year on year; 149,985 private transport vehicles, up 6%; and 8,573 private cars with more than seven seats, up 1%.
However, the department reported a drop in registrations of motorcycles and public transport vehicles.
Ms Janthira said in the first half of this year, 971,761 new motorcycles were registered with the DLT, a decline of 4% from the same period last year.
A bigger drop of 6% was also seen in the number of registered buses year on year. Altogether, 5,798 new buses were registered.
Also, 33,885 trucks have been registered in the past six months, down 3%.
Ms Janthira said registrations in the first half of this year brought to 40,190,328 the number of registered vehicles nationwide. Most of them - 21,051, 977 - are motorcycles, followed by 9,713,980 private cars with up to seven seats.
The DLT deputy chief said that applying to register a new car is now easier and faster and can be processed within a day.
Sellers of new cars are advised to have the necessary documents ready for submission to the DLT so licence plates can be issued quickly to the vehicle owners.
Owners are reminded of a new law which prohibits new cars from carrying red number plates for more than 30 days. Owners must register - at which point they will be given a white, permanent number plate - within 30 days of a new car coming into their possession.