According to data from the Israel Vehicle Importers Association, the year 2016 saw a record high in the delivery of new vehicles in Israel. The purchase of new vehicles contributes to the upgrading of the stock of vehicles that travel on Israel's roads: the new vehicles are equipped with more sophisticated safety systems; emit lower levels of pollution; and are quieter and more economical. However, as long as the purchase of new vehicles is not balanced out by old vehicles being taken off the roads, this isn't necessarily good news. The overall rise in the number of vehicles leads to increased congestion on the roads, which in turn leads to an increase in the transportation burden and emissions of pollutants and further irritates the already frayed nerves of Israeli drivers. In light of these implications, it is interesting to see where the car inventory is renewed and where it lags behind with aging vehicles. In the big cities, the answer seems clear. According to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2016, about 40% of the cars whose owners live in Jerusalem were a decade old or older. That is in comparison with 25% of the vehicles in the entire country, 21% in Haifa, 15% in Tel Aviv and 14% in Rishon Lezion. The aging of the vehicle inventory in Jerusalem also stands out in terms of the average ages of the vehicles. In Jerusalem the figure stands at 8.6 years, significantly higher than the country average of 6.5 years. The figure is 5.9 in Haifa, 4.8 in Tel Aviv and 4.6 in Rishon Lezion. When we examine annual purchasing trends, dramatic gaps are revealed between Jerusalem and the other large cities. The newest vehicles of all are driven on the roads of Rishon Lezion; nearly half (47%) of all the vehicles in the city reached the road between 2014 and 2016, as compared to 43% of the vehicles in Tel Aviv and a third (33%) of the vehicles in Haifa. The parallel figure in Jerusalem is much lower: 16%. A review of the figures for last year alone reveals that 18% of the vehicles in Rishon Lezion reached the road in 2016, as opposed to 16% in Tel Aviv, 12% in Haifa and only 6% in Jerusalem. Translated by Gilah Kahn.
