Second-hand cars
09.17
From 2009 to 2011
TML, together with international partners, analysed the trade and usage parameters of used vehicles in Europe to provide policy advice on their life cycle. The study focused on the impact of obsolete technologies on emissions and safety, with an emphasis on vehicle flows within the EU.
Thanks to the latest technologies, new vehicles offer many more benefits in terms of emissions and safety than older vehicles. It is therefore interesting to take a look at their life cycle. In theory, one assumes that all vehicles serve their time before disappearing from the vehicle fleet. They may or may not be replaced by newer vehicles with, in turn, newer technologies. During this time, a technology remains in use and is then replaced by a better technology. Emission models that make calculations or projections often assume such a closed cycle in which vehicles disappear after an average number of kilometres.
However, this representation of the life cycle of a vehicle does not correspond to practice; it needs an important nuance. A large proportion of vehicles do not simply disappear from the vehicle fleet but are sold as second-hand vehicles, continuing to use - by then - relatively obsolete technology. This can have emissions and safety implications. The share of second-hand vehicles, their use, and import and export flows within the European Union have not been studied in detail until now.
This study, conducted with our German partner Öko-Institut and the Danish COWI, collected data on two aspects: on the one hand, the trade in used vehicles within and across European borders, on the other hand, the usage parameters for such vehicles. Based on these data, an analysis was carried out that allows policy advice to be provided regarding the life cycle of vehicles within the European Union. This included examining differences between European Member States in the vehicle fleet and identifying explanatory factors.
Thanks to the latest technologies, new vehicles offer many more benefits in terms of emissions and safety than older vehicles. It is therefore interesting to take a look at their life cycle. In theory, one assumes that all vehicles serve their time before disappearing from the vehicle fleet. They may or may not be replaced by newer vehicles with, in turn, newer technologies. During this time, a technology remains in use and is then replaced by a better technology. Emission models that make calculations or projections often assume such a closed cycle in which vehicles disappear after an average number of kilometres.
However, this representation of the life cycle of a vehicle does not correspond to practice; it needs an important nuance. A large proportion of vehicles do not simply disappear from the vehicle fleet but are sold as second-hand vehicles, continuing to use - by then - relatively obsolete technology. This can have emissions and safety implications. The share of second-hand vehicles, their use, and import and export flows within the European Union have not been studied in detail until now.
This study, conducted with our German partner Öko-Institut and the Danish COWI, collected data on two aspects: on the one hand, the trade in used vehicles within and across European borders, on the other hand, the usage parameters for such vehicles. Based on these data, an analysis was carried out that allows policy advice to be provided regarding the life cycle of vehicles within the European Union. This included examining differences between European Member States in the vehicle fleet and identifying explanatory factors.
