11,000 vehicles barred from 2026 road tax renewal over faulty airbags

As the online portal has opened for the renewal of 2026 road tax for approximately 750,000 vehicles, around 11,000 will be denied renewal due to pending faulty airbag replacements.

Road transport department officer Constantinos Kouppis said that 100,500 vehicles had been called in to replace defective Takata airbags, with several thousand still outstanding and therefore required to complete the replacement before being eligible to renew their road tax.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Kouppis said that about 7,000 active vehicles were still awaiting airbag replacements, out of the 81,000 announced in February 2025. The eight-month grace period has expired, meaning these vehicles are now considered immobilised.

Many of the owners cannot be found, he added.

“We stand at 90 per cent of implementation. It is a dynamic process, as more vehicles are being continually added for recalls,” he said.

He explained that a further 19,500 vehicles had been added after February 2025 and 4,000 were still pending replacements.

The road tax portal opened on January 7 for online renewals and will remain open until March 11 at midnight, with no planned extension. Owners can opt to renew their road tax for the whole year or by quarter, given that they have a valid MOT and insurance.

Those who fail to renew their road tax by the March 11 deadline will incur a surcharge.