As Dubravko Kolaric/24sata writes on the 14th of February, 2020, CVH has published extensive statistics on the state of cars in Croatia and after many years, finally has reason to be somewhat more optimistic, but despite that, the Croatian average is still below the European Union (EU) average.
The average age of all passenger cars in Croatia is 12.56 years, according to the latest statistics from the Croatian Vehicle Centre. It doesn’t sound good, but considering that two years ago, that age was almost 13 years, and that in two years, the average age of cars in Croatia has fallen, there’s certainly reason to be at least a little more optimistic. Croatia drove some of the newest cars back in 2007, and then the crisis lowered the standard for citizens and nearly destroyed the new car market and the average age of cars in Croatia began to etadily rise.
In recent years, the market for new cars has recovered quite a lot, with 62,938 new vehicles registered last year. To this should be added 84,913 used cars that arrived from other countries of the European Union. They improve the Croatian statistics a little, because as a rule, overseas buyers don’t tend to focus on cars any older than ten years old, which of course reduces the average age.
Younger cars on the roads are not just a matter of comfort and customer prestige. All of them benefit because they have a positive impact on traffic safety and the environment. For example, a car manufactured 13 years ago by today’s safety standards would receive anything from zero stars up to a maximum of one star at Euro NCAP testing. A six-year-old car would receive two to four stars, which means it boasts more chances of survival in critical situations or collisions. Additionally, a car manufactured 13 years ago emits two to three times more harmful substances into the environment. For diesel engines, this rises even more.
Croatia is not among the worst in the European Union by average car age, but it still remains worse than the average. Croatia is, in this case, better than the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia and the Baltic states, which is not so bad, but could still be much better.
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