There seems to be no hope for traffic relief. The crisis in the Middle East and the increase in fuel prices have not affected the growing trend of Albanians buying vehicles, at least for the first months of the year.
According to data from the General Directorate of Road Transport Services (DPSHTRR), in March, 7,891 vehicles were registered for the first time in the country, a 15% increase 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. Except for January, when registrations fell by 7.6%, in February they increased by 20.6%.
In the first quarter, a total of about 22,000 new vehicles were added to the roads, most of which were cars, with an 8.4% increase on an annual basis. 87% of these cars 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 almost 1.07 million at the end of March, of which about 860,000 are cars.
South Korea leads, China consolidates second place
According to data from DPSHTRR, South Korea continued to lead in the first quarter, with 24% of the total vehicles registered for the first time coming from this country. This is the third year that South Korea has been the most preferred country for buying cars due to the economic alternatives it offers.
China is in second place for the first time this year. In January-March, nearly 4,000 vehicles came from this country, or 18% of the total. 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%.
Electric car imports triple
Interest in electric cars has increased in recent years, but growth rates accelerated in March, after 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 in January-March, of which 2,764 were cars. The Chinese brand BYD dominates, with 2,046 new registrations in January-March.
Compared to the first quarter of 2025, electric car registrations have tripled.
Despite growing interest, the share of the total remains low, with 13% of new registrations in January-March being electric, while diesel continues to dominate, followed by gasoline. In 2025, electric vehicle imports accounted for 5.7% of the total.