Around 1.5 million of the total number of cars in Spain circulate with damage due to accidents or previous blows, according to an analysis by Sumauto based on the history of more than 900,000 vehicles and which shows that 6.5% of them have these war wounds, as you have described them.
Sumauto has pointed out that this danger, which is added to the aging of the car park (which is around 14 years old), has also been detected in imported vehicles, specifically, in 10% of them.
“With the added problems that, on many occasions, these vehicles present, such as the manipulation of the speedometer and the ‘shaving’ of the kilometers, structural damage or hidden faults,” he warned.
Sumauto considers that all this seriously harms road safety in Spain, while recalling that last year the number of fatalities in passenger car accidents increased by 10%, according to the latest data presented by the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT). .
The spokesman for Sumauto, Ignacio García Rojí, has pointed out that Spain has an aged and damaged fleet and, although he has opined that cars last longer and longer, this also implies that they have more ailments and, therefore, do not roll in the best conditions.
“The ITV (technical vehicle inspection) is an essential filter, although abstention has increased after the pandemic, hence the need for drivers to have incentives to scrap their vehicles and switch to cars in good condition,” he added.
In this sense, Sumauto has indicated that behind the aging of the car park in Spain is the lack of ‘stock’ of new vehicles and their increase in cost, with an average price of more than 22,000 euros, according to the Tax Agency. “Which is beyond many budgets and implies enduring more years with the same car or, if it is changed, looking for a cheaper alternative with a used one”, valued Sumauto.