Figures released from the experts at Cartell.ie reveal that Ireland's fleet of cars is rapidly getting older. The new data reveals that the average age of an Irish car now sits at 8.25 years; an increase of a quarter of a year since July 2012 when the average age crossed the eight-year barrier for the first time.
As well as the record high, a new style of research means that the average age of vehicles can be pinpointed to individual counties; and that there are significant differences throughout the country. Vehicles in Dublin, for instance, currently average around 8.15 years old, whereas the figures in areas such as Mayo, Kerry, Longford, Westmeath and Carlow sit near and above the nine-year mark. Leitrim takes the crowning glory of owning the oldest cars though, as the results there show an average age of 9.64 years.
"It's remarkable how fast the fleet is aging," comments Jeff Aheme, Director of Cartell. "This is proof of the impact the recession is having on owners: people are holding their cars for longer, and when they are buying, they are buying used vehicles instead of new ones."
In comparison to UK figures, the average age of a British car currently sits at 7.44 years; although the fleet figures are obviously much higher. The current vehicle population of Ireland is around 2.21 million.