The cars most scrapped by Italians? Dot and Panda

End of the year, time for reports: thanks to the long debate on diesel and the recent approval of the eco-tax, the issue of scrapping older and more polluting vehicles has been at the center of the reflections of Italians. But which were the cars that the Italians got rid of to a greater extent? According to the data of theObservatory on online car research of the DriveK portal, leader in Europe for the selection and configuration of new cars, in 2018 the most traded-in cars of the year were Fiat Punto and Fiat Panda. As noted at the end of 2017, it is the two FCA models that lead the trade-in ranking, certainly due to the very high presence of both on our roads. In fact, by themselves they come to represent almost 10% of all vehicles given as replacements. 

The survey, carried out on a sample of fifty thousand requests for estimates that the Italians carried out during 2018 (January 1st - December 15th 2018) to find the right car, also allowed them to discover more information about the vehicle that the Italians want to get rid of. Compared to 2017, for example, it seems that the Italians have tried to postpone the moment of scrapping as much as possible. In fact, the average age of the cars traded in changes, which last year was less than 11 years, while this year it reaches 11 years and a half; the average mileage of scrapped vehicles also increased, from 145.000 kilometers to almost 149.000. Slight increases that tell the hesitation of Italians when it comes to buying a new car and portray a fleet of cars in need of rejuvenation. However, if the vehicle is powered by petrol, the average mileage amounts to 122.000 kilometres; the average of diesel vehicles is much higher, which are replaced after having traveled around 175.000. 

Returning to the ranking of the most traded cars, in third place we find the Ford Fiesta, followed by the Lancia Ypsilon, who falls off the podium compared to 2017. Fifth classified Volkswagen Golf, the best-selling car in Europe and a great classic loved by the public. Sixth position for Opel Corsa and, going through the rest of the top ten, we find other cult names: in order, Ford Focus, Citroën C3, Renault Clio e Mercedes-Benz A-Class. 

«2018 is confirmed as a year of hesitation and uncertainty for Italians who want to buy a new car. – declares Tommaso Carboni, Country Manager for Italy of MotorK, the company that owns the portal DriveK. – Above all, those cars that had reached their limit for safe circulation on the roads were scrapped, while it was decided to wait for the next few months to understand, for example, the impact for incentives for the purchase of electric cars. Certainly, the large investments in zero-emission mobility by large groups will soon have repercussions on the car fleet circulating in our country, but the process of modernization will be long and tortuous».

Below is the ranking of the 15 most traded cars in 2018: