MOTORS IN CANADA

Southland Times, Issue 21715, 30 May 1932, Page 8

MOTORS IN CANADA

FIRST CHECK TO INCREASE. CARS USED LONGER. Ottawa, April 19. Complete records show that for the year 1931 the nine provinces of Canada registered 1,206,836 motor vehicles, and for the first time in the history of automobiles there was a decrease. Registrations for 1930 were 1,239,888 and the drop was 2.7 per cent. Most of the decrease was in passenger cars, which dropped from 1,047,494 to 1,024,385. There was a heavy decrease in new registrations while renewals were up in every province, indicating clearly, that many old cars were being maintained in service be-yond-what would have been considered a few years ago their normal lifetime. For the past year Canada, with an average population of 8.6 persons per motor vehicle, had a total greater registration than all save three other countries. The United States had 26,532,779 registrations, the United Kingdom 1,524,339 and France 1,459,650. Total taxes collected through registration fees, mileage on buses, drivers’ permits, etc., amounted to £3,936,982, which was £96,275 less than in 1930. The Eastern provinces showed increases, but receipts in the Prairiesand British Columbia were down. The total gasoline tax collections were £4,509,224, as against £4,531,045 in the previous year. For 1932 most provinces have increased both registration fee and gasoline tax.