The ageing car fleet impacts climate emissions and road safety, according to an expert.
Finland has the oldest car fleet in the Nordic countries, and its average age continues to rise.
The average Finnish car is 13.6 years old — compared to 11 years in Sweden, 9.6 years in Denmark, and 11.1 years in Norway.
Experts say new cars are increasingly electric, use less fuel, and come with better safety features each year.
“The ageing car fleet impacts climate emissions and road safety,” Jouko Sohlberg, Technical Director at The Finnish Central Organisation for Motor Trades and Repairs, said on Yle’s morning talk show.
This year, the car industry forecasts that about 74,000 new passenger cars will be sold in Finland.
Lowering the average age of cars would require Finns to buy significantly more new vehicles.
“About 140,000 cars would need to be sold for the average age to start decreasing,” Sohlberg noted.
New car registrations down
In June, 7,449 new passenger cars were registered in Finland, which is 10.1 percent more than in June last year.
However, early signs of improving sales have not changed the overall gloomy outlook for the car industry.
From January to June, new passenger car registrations were down 4.9 percent compared to the same period last year.
“Times are tough, but various promotions have helped boost sales,” Sohlberg said, commenting on recent figures.
The lists of Finland’s best-selling car brands and models feature the same names year after year.
Manufacturers like Toyota and Volkswagen have remained popular and stable for decades.
“Finns trust traditional brands and are somewhat wary of new ones. The most popular brands are reliable and offer a versatile range of models,” Pekka Kaidesoja, editor-in-chief of the Auto Bild Suomi publication, told Yle.
