Vehicle registrations slow

The number of first-time vehicle registrations dropped to 12,740 in the first quarter of the year, compared to 14,308 in the fourth quarter of 2020, Statistics Botswana figures indicate. Despite the decline, vehicle registration figures have generally been on the uptick since they slumped in the second quarter of 2020 when COVID-19 forced a total closure of borders. According to the latest figures from Statistics Botswana, the resurgent registrations seen when borders were fully opened in the fourth quarter of last year, cooled in the first quarter of this year across most classes of vehicles. First registrations of passenger cars, trucks, tractors, trailers and tankers/horses all declined in the first quarter compared to the fourth quarter of 2020. However, first registrations of vans and buses went up during the same period. Of the total 12,740 first registrations, more than 81% were used vehicles, while 9,299 of the first registrations in the first quarter were from Japan. Another 2,297 were from South Africa, while just 496 were from Botswana. Nearly 35% of the first registrations in the first quarter were Toyota vehicles, followed by Honda, Mazda and Volkswagen, trends which roughly mirror the most dominant passenger vehicles on the country’s roads.