See all Motoring NewsNew research by Cartell.ie shows that the age of an average Irish car has climbed to above eight-and-a-half years. The figure, taken in July of this year, shows that the average car age now stands at 8.85 years, which is a rise of 40 days between January 2015 and January 2016. For comparison, the previous year, Jan '14 to Jan '15, showed an overall average rise of just 11 days.
Yet the overall size of the national fleet remains the same. The figure for July 2016 is 2.23 million cars on Irish roads, identical to the figure in July 2015.
The rising age is in something of defiance of a major climb in new car sales, which are up by 19 per cent so far this year. In spite of those new cars entering the fleet, the age is continuing to climb, which has serious implications for safety, reliability and emissions.
John Byrne, Legal and Public Relations Manager,Cartell.ie, said: "The age of the fleet is continuing to creep upwards based on this analysis. The age fluctuates throughout the year as cars enter and leave the fleet but analysing the age in January of every year since 2000 shows our cars are still getting older. Interestingly, the size of the private fleet is levelling off. This indicates market potential for manufacturers to sell more new vehicles as vehicle owners, solely based on this analysis, are still more inclined to retain an older vehicle than buy a newer model."
The current average car age represents a massive climb from when Cartell.ie first started taking figures in 2000. That year, the average Irish car was a mere 5.1 years old.
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