Cars Have Never Been Older Than in 2022

The 2022 vehicle fleet is now 11 years old, 2 months older than in 2021, with electric cars struggling to exceed 1%.

In France, approximately 41.1 million cars were on the road as of January 1, 2022, according to an estimate. But within this fleet, there are many disparities and changes over the years.

The 2022 car is an grandma, especially in the countryside

The first trend is that the vehicle fleet is even older, notes AAA Data. With 11 years, the average car in 2022 is 2 months older than in 2021. And everyone is not in the same situation.

The wealthy department of Hauts-de-Seine has the newest cars (8.4 years), compared to Paris (9.6 years), Yvelines and Haute-Savoie (9.8 years). Conversely, Indre, at 12.8 years, has the oldest cars, ahead of Creuse and Lot (12.7 years), as well as Nièvre and Dordogne (12.6 years). Outside metropolitan areas, overseas territories show more frequent renewal, with an average age below 10 years.

New cars do not renew the used market

Per decade, cars from the 2020s make up only 8.55% of the fleet. The 2010s account for half of the cars, and a third for the 2000s. The decline is due to decreased new car sales, a consequence of lockdowns and chip shortages.

In 2020, the market shrank by -25.5% compared to 2019 (1.65 million). It barely improved in 2021 with a slight increase of +0.5% (1.66 million). Buyers showed less enthusiasm, now mostly opting for long-term rental (LLD or LOA) at 50.3%, ahead of traditional purchase.

The lack of recent models also harms the used car market, as noted by AAA Data, which was benefiting from the decline in new car sales. After falling 8.9% in January, it recorded only 441,000 transactions.

Electric vehicles are gradually settling in

The SUV body type, which accounts for more than 45% of new car sales, now makes up 19% of vehicles on the roads. As for electric cars, they are still a small fraction despite 10% of January sales and over the course of 2021. This is normal, as sales only took off in the past two years. As a result, you will now typically encounter only about 1 electric car out of 100.

The electric market has been declining significantly over the past few years, dropping to 18% of new car sales in 2021, but diesel still accounts for more than half of cars in circulation (55%). Hybrid gasoline is increasing its share, at 2.1%.

Also read: Why electric mobility struggles to convince the French?