Twelve years, this is the average age for a third of the cars circulating in Italy. the data emerges from an analysis conducted by the Continental Study Center, which examined the 37 million vehicles that make up the Italian car fleet.
In detail, explains a note, 33,68% of cars are made up of euro 0, euro 1 and euro 2 specimens, i.e. cars registered before 2001, which have safety and pollution levels very far from those of the models of more recent construction.
Furthermore, a strong difference emerges between northern and southern Italy, with Campania, Calabria and Basilicata respectively in last, penultimate and third from last position, while the podium is occupied respectively by Trentino Alto Adige, Tuscany and Lombardy.
The economic crisis makes it difficult to foresee an improvement in the situation in the short term. On the one hand, the drop in income is pushing private individuals to postpone the purchase of durable goods such as cars. On the other hand, the state of public finances makes the introduction of scrapping incentives unlikely, the main instrument used to optimize the car fleet circulating in Italy in past years.
Of primary importance for safety and environmental protection, the study suggests, is also keeping vehicles in an efficient condition, especially if they are older. It would be enough, the study continues, not to skimp on maintenance interventions, for example on the systematic control of tire pressure.
