CHANGES IN THE DUTCH FLEET OF CARS AND THE COSTS OF CAR OWNERSHIP AND USE

This article is based on a study which deals with two partly related elements, namely the changes in the structure of the Dutch fleet of cars in the period 1975-1989 and the differences between the car cost estimates and 'real' car expenditure. With regard to the structure of the fleet of cars it is concluded that the share of old cars (6 years and more) has been increasing rapidly, mainly due to the technological improvements of cars. This can be regarded as beneficial, especially for buyers of old cars. There has also been a major increase in the share of medium size cars, mainly because of a rise in household income. In many European countries car cost estimates for various annual kilometrages from e.g. Motorists' Associations are available. In the Netherlands there were indications that these figures tend to overestimate the real expenditure on car ownership and use. Figures from the Dutch Motorists' Association ANWB were confronted with data from the Annual Consumer Expenditure Survey of the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics and from various other surveys. In addition, a survey among motorists who had recently traded in their car was organized in order to gain more information on the topic of depreciation costs. Other car cost items include maintenance, insurance, road tax and fuel. The fleet of cars has been stratified by the age, weight and fuel type of the car. For each category the estimated costs are confronted with the real expenditure. The main conclusion from the sudy is that real car expenditure is on average 20-30 % less than the car cost estimates. (Author/TRRL)