The number of registered road motor vehicles and trailers in Montenegro in 2022 was 266.747, which is 4,8 percent more than in 2021.
The number of vehicles that were registered for the first time in Montenegro last year, which means that they were imported as new or used, was 21.796, which is 25,3 percent more than in 2021. This shows that a significant number of citizens used the increase in wages to renew their vehicle fleet.
According to Monstat data, of the total number of registered motor vehicles, 227.716 are passenger cars. Of that number, 12,7 thousand are cars younger than five years old, which is 5,5 percent of the total number of registered cars.
There are 41,3 thousand cars under ten years old, which is 18 percent of the total number, while there are 20 thousand cars over 74 years old, or 32,5 percent. This shows that every third registered vehicle is over 20 years old.
There are 10 cars between 20 and 112 years old, which is 49 percent.
Last year, 5,8 thousand cars that were produced before 1990 were registered.
The most cars were registered in Podgorica - 80 thousand, or 35 percent of the total number, followed by Nikšić - 21,4 thousand, Bar - 19,2 thousand, Herceg Novi - 12,7 thousand, Budva - 12,1 thousand, and the least in Plužine - 517 and Šavnik - 327.
Last year, 1.316 buses were registered in Montenegro, of which 94 were under five years old, or 7,1 percent. There are 10 buses under 220 years old, which is 16,7 percent of the total number. 314 buses that are older than 20 years, or one in four, were also registered. There are also seven buses produced before 1990 on the roads.
405 tractors were also registered, and the situation with these vehicles is completely different from cars. As many as 302 tractors, or 74,5 percent, were produced in 2021 and 2022, which shows that farmers, with the support of new government measures, have significantly renewed their fleet of working machinery.
Of the total number of motor vehicles, 204 thousand or 77 percent use diesel fuel, 51 thousand use eurosuper 95, and 6,2 thousand use autogas. Eurosuper 98 is used by only 480 vehicles, and the fuel mixture by 26 registered vehicles.
The electric drive has 415 vehicles, which is 28,5 percent more than the year before.
BIH: Vehicle fleet as an image of society
The average age of vehicles on the roads in Bosnia and Herzegovina is over 16 years. Last year, 1.006.142 passenger cars were registered, of which 514.080, or 51,10 percent, were between 10 and 20 years old, 351.660, or 34,95 percent were over 20 years old, and 1,35 percent were up to two years old. .
More than 50 percent of the total number of vehicles are below EU eco-standards. Also, according to BIHAMK data, of the total number of vehicles registered for the first time, 14,98 percent are new, while 85,02 percent are imported used vehicles.
"Such vehicles do not have electronic systems for monitoring the functioning of the vehicle system, so the user does not know what is happening with his vehicle until there is a failure or failure of one of the systems or until he goes for a technical inspection. The state should finally start implementing extensive measures to control the correctness of vehicles that are driven on the roads in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to the fact that in most cases our roads are still in the same condition as in the pre-war period, that signaling is scarce and rather outdated, the correctness of vehicles is very often the cause of traffic accidents on the roads. The number of defective vehicles at the first inspection in FBiH, in 2022, was 19.791. A very small number of returned defective vehicles, the age of the vehicle, as well as insufficient maintenance is a very common cause of the technical malfunction of the vehicle, so it is one of the direct influences on the safety of the vehicle in traffic," claims Jasmin Čengić from Porsche BH.
And it is more than clear that the fleet reflects the general picture of the situation in our society. We are one of the poorest countries in Europe and no one is too surprised by the fact that we drive the "trash" of developed EU countries. However, there are also certain positive examples that prove that with the right set of interventions, it can influence the awareness of customers.
"It reflects the standard of living of our citizens and the fact that we live in one of the poorest countries in Europe. An additional reason is that there are no special disincentives when it comes to older cars, nor are there any special incentives for newer ones, except for hybrids and electric vehicles. It is necessary for the state to model its fiscal policy, and to invest more in public transport, which reduces the total number of cars on the roads, primarily vehicles of older production," said economic analyst Admir Čavalić.
The temporary measure of suspension of customs duties on electric vehicles from 5 to 0 percent, or hybrids from 15 to 5 percent, for vehicles that do not originate from the EU, has led to a significant change in awareness when purchasing vehicles with an eco label. From 2022, when the decision came into force, we have a significant increase in the import of electric vehicles and hybrids.
"Identical measures should be continued in the future, which will significantly change the image of car imports. On the one hand, these measures will affect the import of younger cars, however, stronger stimulating measures are needed to replace the existing vehicle fleet, where the effect on the unprofitability of driving older vehicles should be achieved, and this is only possible through specific actions of stimulation and support in the financial sense. but also through marketing messages", claims Jasmin Čengić.
Serbia: German cars dominate
A total of 2022 passenger vehicles were registered in Serbia in 2.337.498, which is an increase of 4,5 percent compared to 2021, according to the data of the Republic Statistical Office (RZS).
For the first time in 2022, 159.580 were registered, and only 19.787 registered cars were produced last year, which shows that not many new cars are bought in Serbia.
According to RZS data, all road motor and trailer vehicles registered during the previous year in Serbia recorded an increase compared to the number of vehicles registered in 2021.
According to RZS data, the most represented passenger car brands of foreign production are Volkswagen, Opel, Fiat, Renault, Peugeot, Ford, Citroen and Audi.
There are currently slightly less than 71.000 ads for passenger vehicles on the Polovniautomobili.com website.
Petar Veličković, in front of the Polovniautomobili.com portal, tells "Danas" that visitors to that site this year most often search for two "audi" models - A4 and A6.
"As expected, the fifth generation 'Golf' is at the top of the most searched models, and the list of five used cars that are most interesting to potential buyers is completed by the 'BMW' 3 Series and the 'Audi A3'," he states.
Veličković adds that there is also great interest in "Skoda Octavia", "Golf 6", "Golf 4" and "Passat" B6 and "BMW" 5 series.
"These data correspond to a good extent with the best-selling models of used cars that were registered in Serbia for the first time this year. On that list in the first quarter of this year, the best-selling 'Golf', 'Passat' and 'Polo' are convincingly followed by 'Fiat Punto' and 'Audi A4'. When it comes to manufacturers, apart from Volkswagen, this year the customers most often opt for the 'Audi' and 'Opel' models, followed by the 'French', i.e. 'Pezzo' and 'Reno'", explains the interlocutor.
When it comes to imported used cars, we had an almost identical picture of the market in 2022.
"The first three places were occupied by Volkswagen models: 'Golf' in first place, 'Passat' in second place and 'Polo' in third place. At the top of the list were the 'Opel Corsa' in fourth place and the 'Audi A4' in fifth place, and the 'Opel Astra', 'Reno Clio', and 'Citroen C3' also sold well...", says Veličković.
A special story is the protection, although it is better to say the endangerment of the environment with an outdated vehicle fleet and the special love of citizens for "diesels" that Europe is rapidly getting rid of. In the progress report of the European Commission for 2021, it was recommended that Serbia adopt the EU index for air quality, so at the end of last year the Government adopted the Air Protection Program in Serbia from 2022 to 2030. One of the measures is the renewal of the vehicle fleet, by sending the oldest Euro 1, 2 and 3 passenger and light freight vehicles and diesel buses to scrap and recycling.
The state allocated subsidies of 2.100 euros for passenger cars, 12 euros for the purchase of small trucks up to 2.500 tons, and 2.900 euros for the purchase of buses. In total, slightly more than one hundred million euros are allocated for these subsidies. However, the problem is the rest of the money, since you can get a few hundred euros more for "scraps" through ads or at the car market, and newer models cost thousands.
Electric cars are an unattainable dream for most.
It should also be said that according to the latest research, 53 percent of citizens in Serbia use cars, which is the least among ten Central European countries, according to the study of mobility in Central Europe by the CEPER company. The alternative is two-wheelers, but Serbia can't boast of good results here either, because according to the same survey, only 13 percent of citizens use this form of transportation. And that, should we emphasize, most often in Vojvodina, which has a long tradition in this type of transport.
And if we go back to the beginning of the text and compare the data on 2.337.498 passenger cars registered last year with the number of households - 2,520.854 according to the Census conducted last year - it is clear that not every house has a car. And it happens that the most popular household "pet" is driven by several family members on a shift.
Croatia: Worse than before joining the EU
Ten years have passed since Croatia joined the European Union, many things in our country have improved since that summer of 2013, but there are also things that are significantly worse than before joining the EU. For example, the age of the Croatian fleet.
While in 2012 the average age of private cars in Croatia was 11,38 years, last year, according to data from the Croatian Vehicle Center, the average age of cars in Croatia was 13,29 years. So, in the last 10 years, our private cars are almost two years older.
The aging trend of the vehicle fleet, admittedly, started even before Croatia became a member of the EU, but the EU membership accelerated it. When Croatia became a member of the EU, the import of used cars from other member states became an entry, while the term import remained for those cars that are registered as used in Croatia and arrived from non-EU countries. With Croatia's entry into the EU, the procedure for importing used cars was simplified, and taxes and other fees for importing used cars were reduced. The member state has limited room for maneuver to regulate the import of used vehicles from one member state to another, since double taxation is prohibited, but the costs paid according to the environmental criterion have avoided the mass import of cars older than 10 years. However, the average age of used cars imported into Croatia last year was 7,8 years, and 62.035 cars were imported, while 44.088 new cars were registered at the same time. Those facts and figures are quite enough for the age of private cars to increase from 2022 years to 2021 years in 13,04 compared to 13,29.
The average age of all vehicles is even more devastating for us - even 15,89 years in 2022.
Of course, the age of the vehicle fleet is closely related to the technical correctness of the vehicle, and therefore to the safety of traffic on the roads.
In addition, new cars are significantly safer than cars that were manufactured 13 years ago. Standard safety equipment 13 years ago did not even have the ESP system, which became mandatory in all cars in the European Union from November 1, 2014.
Research has shown that the electronic stability program (ESP) can prevent up to 80 percent of accidents caused by skidding, whether the skidding occurred due to wet or icy roads, excessive speed when entering a corner or a quick maneuver to avoid an obstacle. Therefore, the mandatory ESP system in cars is a very significant step forward for greater safety on the roads.
The EU has taken a new step in increasing road traffic safety with a regulation that requires all new cars from 2020 to have an automatic emergency braking system (Autonomous Emergency Braking - AEB), which instead of the driver, if he fails to stop the vehicle, brakes automatically in case of danger and avoids collision at low speeds.
But, regardless of the legal regulations, many car manufacturers install many active safety systems in their models, so today even the entry-level models have much more safety equipment than is minimally prescribed. Today, most cars from the C segment, even the smaller B segment, already offer a safety package as standard equipment, which includes a lane departure warning system, an automatic emergency braking system that recognizes pedestrians and cyclists, a traffic sign recognition system, an automatic high and low beam switching, adaptive cruise control, lane detection and monitoring system...
Because of all this, new cars are many times safer than comparable cars that arrived on the market 13 or more years ago. Of course, the good thing about all this is that 10,5-year-old cars in 2010, which was the average age of the fleet back then, had much less safety equipment than 13-year-old cars today, which is the average age of cars today.
However, the trend of increasing the age of private cars is not good and it would be much better if as many drivers as possible drive newer cars that have more active and passive safety equipment.
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