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Expensive oil, but car imports hit historic record in March/electric cars tripled

2026-04-06 07:38:00, Ekonomi CNA

Expensive oil, but car imports hit historic record in March/electric cars

There seems to be no hope for easing traffic. The crisis in the Middle East and the rise in fuel prices have not affected the growing tendency of Albanians to buy vehicles, at least for the first months of the year.

According to data from the General Directorate of Road Transport Services (GDRTS), 7,891 vehicles were registered for the first time in the country in March, an increase of 15% compared to the same month a year earlier. This is also the historical record for new vehicle registrations ever recorded in March.

The same trend is observed for the entire first quarter. Apart from January, when registrations fell by 7.6%, in February they increased by 20.6%.

In the first quarter, a total of 22 new vehicles were added to the country's roads, the majority of which were cars, with an increase of 8.4% on an annual basis. 87% of these cars that were registered for the first time were diesel, gasoline, or gas, the price of which increased significantly in March, with diesel exceeding 220 lek, from 175 lek/liter in February, gasoline increased by 6 lek (181 lek per liter) and gas by 15-20 lek per liter, reaching 75 lek per liter.

The first quarter also marked the highest level of car registrations in history.

The number of active vehicles circulating on the country's roads reached nearly 1.07 million at the end of March, of which about 860 thousand are cars.

South Korea leads, China consolidates second place

According to data from the DPSHTRR, South Korea continued to hold the lead in the first quarter, with 24% of total first-time vehicle registrations coming from this country. This is the third year that South Korea has been the most preferred country to buy cars due to the economic alternatives it offers.

China is in second place for the first time this year. In January-March, almost 4,000 vehicles, or 18% of the total, came from this country. China's growth is linked to increased interest in electric vehicles.

In third place is Germany, with 12.9%, followed by Italy, with 12.3%.

Imports of electric cars triple

Interest in electric cars has increased in recent years, but the growth rates appear to have accelerated in March, as the crisis in the Middle East led to a significant increase in fuel prices.

In March, according to DPSHTRR data, 1,252 electric vehicles were registered for the first time, up from 898 in February and 814 in January.

In total, 2,964 electric vehicles were registered for January-March, of which 2,764 were cars. The Chinese brand BYD dominates, with 2,046 new registrations for January-March.

Compared to the first quarter of 2025, electric car registrations have tripled.

Despite the growing interest, the share of electric vehicles in the total remains low, with 13% of new registrations for January-March being electric, while diesel continues to dominate, followed by gasoline. In 2025, electric vehicle imports accounted for 5.7% of the total./ Monitor Magazine