EU: average age of vehicle types 2017-2021

The average age of passenger cars on the road in the European Union was 12 years in 2021, while the average truck was about 14.2 years old. Germany and the United Kingdom are the leading passenger car markets in Europe as of 2022.

Lithuanians hold on to their cars the longest

Of European countries, the oldest passenger cars were found in Eastern Europe in 2019. The average car in Lithuania was almost 17 years old. High-income countries like Luxembourg had a comparatively younger fleet. The average age of passenger cars in Luxembourg came to about 6.5 years.

World fleet comparison

Across the Atlantic the car and light truck fleet had a slightly higher average age to that reported in the European Union. Light vehicles registered in the United States were on average 12.1 years old. Comparatively, the age of passenger cars in Japan was noticeably lower. The average age of passenger cars on Japanese roads was just over nine years old.