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Showing posts with label survey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label survey. Show all posts

News: Irish car fleet ageing at a dangerous rate

Posted by Alex Bale Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Vehicle data expert Cartell.ie reports today that vehicles in counties Leitrim, Longford, Carlow, Mayo and Kerry are, on average, over 9 years old and vehicle owners are holding their cars longer in those counties. The findings are contained in new research, compiled for the first time, which gives an accurate county specific breakdown of the age of the fleet in Ireland.

Vehicles in Dublin, Meath, Kildare and Wicklow are significantly newer than other counties, but even in those counties, the fleet is aging fast as the recession deepens. The average age for a vehicle in Ireland is now 8.25 years, up ¼ of a year in the last 6 months. This figure contrasts with the comparable UK figure of 7.44 years (source: Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The total number of private vehicles in the Republic of Ireland fleet stands at 2.21 million.

Jeff Aherne, Director of Cartell, says: “It’s remarkable how fast the fleet is now aging. In July 2012 we noted the average age had tipped 8 years for the first time – now we are significantly older again. This is proof of the impact the recession is having on vehicle owners: people are holding their cars for longer, and when they are buying, they are buying used vehicles in large numbers, instead of new vehicles.”

News: Car makers not betting on electric cars

Posted by Alex Bale Thursday, January 10, 2013
 
Most car makers don't expect electric vehicles to take more than 15% of the global market in the next 12 years, according to a survey carried out by KPMG.
KPMG surveyed more than 200 global motor industry executives and found that most were investing in downsized petrol and diesel engines to keep ahead of ever tightening emissions regulations, rather than going for pure electric vehicles. The survey certainly seems to back up something that Toyota said late last year, when its European sales boss said that customer needs were better met by hybrids and plugin hybrids than by pure battery EVs.

“When you look at current MPG estimates for new cars, it’s very evident that automakers are continuing to significantly improve engine efficiency”, KPMG’s National Automotive industry leader Gary Silberg said, speaking to The Detroit News. “What’s clear is that the internal combustion engine is not going anywhere soon.”

The study also found that more than 60% of car makers were preparing to invest in their factories to make production more efficient and that the executives polled picked BMW, Hyundai and VW as the car makers most likely to increase their global sales over the next year.

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