Albania is amongst the countries in Europe with the lowest number of new cars on the road, with just 0.6% under two years old, according to data from the General Directorate of Road Transport Services.
Data from the end of 2021 shows that 0.6% of all cars on the road are new cars which, according to Eurostat, are those manufactured in the last two years.
Other European countries, including Luxembourg, Italy, France, Austria, Ireland, Belgium and Sweden, have rates between 16-22% for comparison. At the bottom are Romania, Latvia, and Lithuania.
As for countries with cars between 2-5 years, Luxembourg and Ireland had 28% while Belgium had 24%. Albania had just 3.9%.
In Albania, old vehicles manufactured before 2005 continue to dominate, accounting for over 57% of the total number of cars in 2021. Meanwhile, vehicles manufactured before 2009 make up almost 87%.
The age of the vehicle fleet circulating in a country is an indicator of economic development and essential for environmental pollution issues. In recent years, vehicle manufacturing technology has been more oriented towards fuel saving and solutions that limit harmful emissions into the atmosphere, mainly through electric or hybrid cars.
Albania offers few incentives for new and electric vehicles. New vehicles (manufactured in the last three years) are exempt from paying the annual vehicle tax, but it has had little impact on the phasing out of older vehicles.
Meanwhile, new electric cars can be imported without customs duty or paying value-added tax and are exempt from annual turnover tax. Also, these vehicles can be registered at no initial cost.
However, until now, even these incentives have not significantly impacted the increase in the use of electric vehicles, mainly due to their high purchasing cost.
Data from the General Directorate of Road Transport Services show that until the middle of this year, only 624 electric vehicles were officially registered in Albania. Meanwhile, hybrid cars that, apart from fossil fuels, operate partially with electricity total just over 1300. In total, electric and hybrid vehicles make up only 0.3% of Albania’s total number of active vehicles.
Many of the electric or hybrid cars on the road are taxis.
