Explore: The cars of Amorgos and Koufonisia, Greece
This past September I was fortunate enough to visit two small Greek islands in the Cyclades: Amorgos and Koufonisia. Like it was the case in Malta, islands have a very peculiar car landscape, with cars surviving longer given the small distances. One obvious element in the Greek car landscape is the prevalence of rental cars, at least on Amorgos which can be explored in half a day.
The most frequent nameplate here is without a doubt the Fiat Panda from the past two generations, both as a local car and as a rental. This is reflected in the country’s car sales data, where the Panda was #1 in July and August 2023 and #2 as recently as last April.
Something also visible in the sales charts is the popularity of the Kia Picanto, mainly due to its success as a rental car. Indeed thanks to its facelift the model is up to #10 over the first 10 months of 2025 and peaked at #6 in April, #3 in May and #4 in June as car rental companies stocked up for summer. The Picanto is the most frequent rental car on the island.
The rental trend is towards microcars, with the Peugeot 108 and Citroen C1 (which I drove) also popular, as well as the Fiat 500. The cost to rent a car for a day on Amorgos is 30€, and the island is so small I didn’t even need to refuel to keep the tank full. Manual cars are the norm, and the numerous hairpin turns have to be negotiated in 1st or 2nd gear.
As mentioned above, many cars have a longer life on islands and Amorgos and Koufonisia are no exceptions, with the Fiat Punto and Chevrolet Spark still valiant.
This Post Has 3 Comments
Thanks for this great post. I‘m in Greece every year (mostly mainland) and I have to say the cars are not much different in the countryside. Besides new cars you still see tons of 90s and 2000s hatches (80s not so much). Mostly French, Italian, Korean, Japanese and Opel. Many Alfa Romeos, sporty versions of Citroen Saxo, Peugeot 106, first two generations of Hyundai Accent. Even the first Kia Sephia. I think I spotted all 90s hatches and compact sedans ever sold already in the first two days this summer. Fiat Panda and Toyota Yaris are everywhere. You also see many old pickups like Toyota Hilux, VW Taro, Skoda Felicia pickup or these little old Datsuns from the 70s and 80s. Thankfully there are a lot less Skodas there besides the imported Taxis or Octavia RS first generation that I never see in Germany.
Kei cars should be sold in Europe
Also, Dacia should be more popular in Greece because a Sandero costs the same as an A segment
Greece is the paraside of tourism, I don’t understand why so many tourists come to my country if Greece is so much better in every single way
Nice cars. Important for mobility in southern Europe. Fortunately, the Pandina and Picanto continue. BEVs are absurdly expensive for rental companies in this segment. This segment should be exempt from CO2 restrictions. Even the new AygoX hybrid is price shock.
Europe is diverse, the sales mix from Nord is absolutely unusable in Greece or Italy.
In my country these cars like the old 108, C1, Panda are very popular for pensioners and food delivery. Very reliable and economical.
Also Jimny. After the pointless end of sales, prices old ones started to rise. People living in moutains, goes to the forest to cut wood, don’t have money for a Wrangler or a Defender.