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Last year, the Balearic Islands government caused a stir both in Spain and overseas when it proposed a series of tough measures to cut down on the amount of traffic on its roads, especially during the summer season. Now, it’s following through with one of its more radical suggestions and Mallorca plans to limit foreigners to one car per household from 2026.

 

The law, which is being pushed through to come into effect before next summer, will mean that non-resident foreigners who own a home in Mallorca will only be allowed one vehicle per home, always providing that they pay road tax on the island.

 

Crucially, the restriction will also apply to rental cars.

 

This measure is already established in the law of Ibiza and, after being analysed in detail, will also be replicated in Mallorca, as explained on Monday May 26 by the president of the Consell, Llorenç Galmés.

 

"Non-residents of the island who own a home in Mallorca will be able to drive one vehicle per owner, provided that the vehicle is registered for tax purposes at that address," he announced during his speech.

 

This is intended to reduce the presence of foreign-registered cars, which is increasing every year, and ease traffic on the roads.

 

According to the latest data available, of the 829,000 vehicles circulating on Mallorca’s roads in 2023, an incredible 380,000 belonged to holidaymakers – that’s between 35% and 40% of the total on any given day and double what was recorded back in 2017.

 

To hit these drivers where it hurts, Mr Galmés’s new law will also impose a levy on all vehicles that don’t pay taxes in the Balearic Islands.

 

The crack-down on foreign registered cars has already begun. Authorities across the Balearic Islands are focusing in on the improper use of foreign-plated vehicles, with nearly 200 violations detected in a sweeping operation aimed at tackling tax and customs fraud.

 

The future regulations will include mandatory annual load studies to update the vehicle ceiling set for each year. In the event of a drastic change in trend, as occurred during the pandemic, the one car per foreign household limit will be lifted.

 

Other data from the mobility study indicated that, on a peak day in August, roads handle 1.3 million trips, and there are days when there are more than 75,000 rental cars on the roads. The load study concluded that, on peak dates, there are already between 90,000 and 120,000 excess vehicles because the roads can no longer handle this volume of traffic.

 

 

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