TOKYO, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- Japanese car-owners are keeping their vehicles an average of 6.77 years -- 2.24 years longer than in 1992, a new survey has found.
The average age of a passenger car in Japan has increased for 13 consecutive years, the Asahi Shimbun reported Friday.
The Automobile Inspection and Registration Association, an affiliate of the Japanese transport ministry, released its findings this week. The figures do not include mini-cars with an engine displacement of 660 cc or less.
When the survey started in the 1970s, the average age of passenger cars was three to four years.
It has since increased annually except for a three-year period beginning in 1990.
Industry observers say that the sharp rise in average car age is partly because of the nation's economic stagnation and partly because of vehicles' increasing durability.
This year's research showed that the average age of passenger cars marked for disposal was 10.93 years, about two weeks shorter than in 2004 when it hit a record high, but still 1.5 years longer than in 1995.
The average age of Japanese trucks and buses hit records of 8.36 years and 9.53 years, respectively.
