It’s time for another check on the global average age of the new car fleet. As many new models hit showrooms and many more retire, the product range is constantly changing.
This is the latest analysis for 71 brands (including eight of the most relevant brands from China) and 766 models. The results are very interesting and confirm the rise of the Asian giant in the automotive field.
The average is calculated between the time of the production model’s launch or unveiling and extending through July 2023, excluding the most basic rebadges, light commercial vehicles, and passenger cars derived from them.
Lada With The Oldest Cars
As expected, Russia’s top car brand lags behind in terms of modern cars. The strategic relaunch of Lada, a company owned by Renault until the beginning of the war in Ukraine, was going well thanks to the close collaboration with the French company. However, the planned new models have been abandoned and today this Russian manufacturer offers five types of passenger cars with an average age of 21.6 years.
It’s not just the legendary Niva, launched in 1977, that is responsible for this outcome. The Largus, based on the first Dacia Logan, the Granta (revealed in May 2011), and the Vesta (September 2015) are also getting older. Are new products in the pipeline? Not at all.
Three Stellantis Brands Follow
Chrysler, Lancia, and Dodge follow Lada as marques with the oldest cars available today. As it prepares to halt production of the Chrysler 300, the American company still desperately needs fresh produce. To date, the median age of its smaller lineup (300 and Pacifica) is 13.5 years. Lancia follows with the Ypsilon, which is already 12.4 years old. And finally there’s Dodge, with an average of 11 years despite the contribution of the Dodge Hornet, presented in August 2022.
Beyond that, it is interesting to see Tesla and Jaguar (both 7.9 years old), and Nissan, the oldest lineup among the big global brands, all in the top 10 for oldest models.
From The East
The younger cars come from China. Indeed, the brand with the youngest range is Zeekr by Geely, founded in 2021. Its three products, 001, 009, and X, are on average just 1.2 years old. Next up is another Chinese manufacturer, NIO, with its seven vehicles that are 1.4 years old on average. Thanks to the presentation of the Polestar 3 and 4 in October 2022 and April 2023 respectively, the Swedish brand occupies the third position among the youngest lineups.
Hyundai Dynamism
Curiously, the real protagonist in the youngest group is Hyundai, a historic car brand with a global presence and 32 different models. It is remarkable to see that this massive formation is only 3.1 years old on average. Its oldest product is the European Hyundai i30, which was presented in September 2016. Its sister brands Genesis and Kia aren’t far off at 3.1 and 4.7 years old, respectively. Koreans work hard.
Toyota, the world’s most popular automaker, averaged 4.6 years, which is 0.4 years below the global average. It was surpassed by Honda (4.3 years) and Ford (4.1 years). In contrast, among the major global brands, Nissan, Chevrolet, and Volkswagen all have an average product age of more than six years.
The author of the article, Felipe Munoz, is an Automotive Industry Specialist at JATO Dynamics.