Vehicle owners in Romania are least likely to drive the latest cars, new data reveals

Romanian drivers are least likely to own a new car model, with just 6 new vehicles per 1,000 people being less than 2 years old.

That’s according to Confused.com (Q1 2022), who analysed Eurostat data to determine the European country with the highest proportion of new vehicles. The research suggests which country’s residents are most likely to choose a newer car over an old one.

The results:

Romanian vehicle owners are least likely to drive a new car

Romanian drivers rank last. Confused.com found that, on average, there were just 6 new cars per 1,000 people in Romania, a 66% decrease from Hungary in 24th (18.87 per 1,000 people). Equating to 4.96% of registered vehicles, this means that just one in 20 cars on the road in Romania are less than two years old.

The European countries with the largest new car population

With an average of almost 91 new vehicles per 1,000 people, Luxembourg has been revealed as the country most likely to own a new car. When compared to countries with a similar population size, this is almost 3 times more than Cyprus (32.57 new vehicles per 1,000 people). This means that almost a quarter (24.50%) of cars on the road in Luxembourg are less than 2 years old, the highest percentage in Europe.

Drivers in Liechtenstein are the second most likely to own a new car, with 52.47 new cars per 1,000 people. This is 42% fewer new vehicles per 1,000 people than in Luxembourg, but 36% more than their Swiss neighbours (38.53 new cars per 1,000 people).  This means that almost 1 in 6 (14.57%) registered vehicles in Liechtenstein are less than 2 years old.

Lithuanian drivers place third. There are 51.32 new vehicles per 1,000 people in Lithuania, 77% more than similarly sized Slovenia (28.99 vehicles per 1,000 people). Despite this, Lithuania has the lowest percentage share of new vehicles in Europe (1.93%), a 39% decrease from their Latvian neighbours (3.19%).

Vehicle owners in Belgium are the fourth most likely to own the latest cars. In total, there are 47.51 new vehicles per 1,000 people, a staggering 56% increase to their French neighbours (30.29 per 1,000 people). This means that almost 1 in 4 (22.69%) registered vehicles in Belgium are less than 2 years old – the third highest percentage in Europe.

Alex Kindred, car insurance expert at Confused.com, comments: “The year a vehicle was manufactured can have an impact on our insurance rates. It’s likely that newer cars are going to be more expensive to insure than older models. This is because if we were to make a claim, newer components are likely to be more expensive to buy and repair.

“However, prices can be made lower if newer cars have modern safety features, such as reverse cameras, lane assist and collision awareness. Although, the only way to know if you’re getting the best price is to shop around and compare car insurance prices, especially if you have a newer car.”