Age of Private Fleet Drops on Younger Imports
PRESS RELEASE
Vehicle history and data expert CARTELL.IE reports today (October 3rd) that the age of the native Irish fleet is now at its lowest level since September 2013 and the imported fleet age, thanks to a surge in newer imports, is now at its lowest level since August 2010.
Cartell.ie tracked the age of the fleet (both native fleet and imported fleet) on the first day of each month between September 1999 and September 2018. Between September 2017 and September 2018 the imported fleet has declined in age from an average of 9.14 years to 8.81 years (-121 days). For the equivalent period the native fleet has declined from 8.59 years to 8.46 years (-48 days).
Graph 1: Age of Private Fleet, Native fleet, Imports 1999 to 2018 (Source: Cartell Carstat)
The age of the fleet oscillates throughout the year as vehicles leave the fleet and others enter. However the drop in age of the imported fleet since September 2017 has been particularly notable.
John Byrne, General Counsel, Cartell.ie, says:
The impact of imports has been even more noticeable in 2018 as owners retire older native vehicles and look to replace them with newer imported vehicles in ever increasing numbers. The imported fleet age has dropped by 121 days in the past year – that’s a sizeable drop. Even the native fleet is getting younger, showing a decline of 48 days in the last 12 months as people are moving up the years. In terms of the outlook for 2019, Brexit certainly makes it more difficult to make predictions, but we would still expect to see the age of the fleet continue to fall in the near term as buyers look to replace older vehicles.”In January 2015 Cartell released data which showed the age of the private fleet in Ireland had levelled-off significantly for the first time in over 10 years – supporting our view the market was then going into recovery.”
In November 2017 Cartell reported the age of the native fleet stood at 8.62 years while the age of the imported fleet stood at 9.02 years: which was the youngest recorded age for the imported fleet since July 2011. The overall age of the private fleet in Ireland (native and imported) stood at 8.7 years: representing a decline of 80 days since January 2017. That equivalent figure now stands at 8.54 years representing a decline of 59 days since those figures were released.
The imported fleet is now at its youngest level since 1st August 2010.
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
Table 1: Age of Native Fleet and Imported Fleet – 2017 to 2018 (Source: Cartell Carstat)
| Date | Native Fleet Age | Imported Fleet Age | Combined Fleet Age |
| 01/09/2017 | 8.59 | 9.14 | 8.70 |
| 01/10/2017 | 8.61 | 9.10 | 8.71 |
| 01/11/2017 | 8.63 | 9.07 | 8.73 |
| 01/12/2017 | 8.67 | 9.05 | 8.75 |
| 01/01/2018 | 8.70 | 9.04 | 8.78 |
| 01/02/2018 | 8.57 | 9.01 | 8.66 |
| 01/03/2018 | 8.52 | 8.96 | 8.62 |
| 01/04/2018 | 8.49 | 8.93 | 8.58 |
| 01/05/2018 | 8.49 | 8.90 | 8.58 |
| 01/06/2018 | 8.50 | 8.88 | 8.59 |
| 01/07/2018 | 8.53 | 8.85 | 8.61 |
| 01/08/2018 | 8.45 | 8.84 | 8.53 |
| 01/09/2018 | 8.46 | 8.81 | 8.54 |
Table 2: Age of Native Fleet and Imported Fleet – September 1999 to September 2018 (Source: Cartell Carstat)
| Date | Native Fleet Age | Imported Fleet Age | Combined Fleet Age |
| 01/09/1999 | 5.59 | 6.38 | 5.61 |
| 01/09/2000 | 5.02 | 6.80 | 5.09 |
| 01/09/2001 | 4.90 | 7.33 | 5.01 |
| 01/09/2002 | 5.07 | 7.88 | 5.21 |
| 01/09/2003 | 5.27 | 8.34 | 5.42 |
| 01/09/2004 | 5.51 | 8.66 | 5.68 |
| 01/09/2005 | 5.69 | 8.65 | 5.88 |
| 01/09/2006 | 5.89 | 8.57 | 6.10 |
| 01/09/2007 | 6.06 | 8.64 | 6.30 |
| 01/09/2008 | 6.31 | 8.69 | 6.57 |
| 01/09/2009 | 6.83 | 8.64 | 7.06 |
| 01/09/2010 | 7.26 | 8.82 | 7.47 |
| 01/09/2011 | 7.62 | 9.03 | 7.82 |
| 01/09/2012 | 8.03 | 9.24 | 8.21 |
| 01/09/2013 | 8.45 | 9.33 | 8.59 |
| 01/09/2014 | 8.61 | 9.15 | 8.70 |
| 01/09/2015 | 8.73 | 9.33 | 8.84 |
| 01/09/2016 | 8.68 | 9.42 | 8.82 |
| 01/09/2017 | 8.59 | 9.14 | 8.70 |
| 01/09/2018 | 8.46 | 8.81 | 8.54 |
References:
https://www.cartell.ie/2015/01/age-of-fleet-levels-off-as-car-industry-in-recovery/
https://www.cartell.ie/2017/11/age-fleet-falls-imports-time-high/
For further information please contact John Byrne on 087 4199018 or at john at cartell.ie or check out www.cartell.ie for further information.
Cartell.ie was set up in 2006 to help buyers make an informed choice when buying a used vehicle – including imported vehicles – by providing a user-friendly and cost-effective vehicle data checking service. Cartell.ie is a totally independent company and fully Irish owned.