46% of cars in Georgia are very old
By Tea Mariamidze
Tuesday, April 25
The statistics of the last year show that in total there are 1,126,470 cars in Georgia. Out of these cars, 46% are older than 20 years, 45% are 11-20 years old, 5.4 percent are 7-10 years old, 2.3 %-4-6 years old and only 1.3 % of cars are 1-3 years old.
Moreover, the statistics of 2016 show that the number of cars in the country increased by 8 percent last year.
Experts believe that people buy old cars because they cannot afford newer and more expensive ones. However, the customs clearance for old cars is higher.
VasilUrushadze from the platform on transport issues, Hub Georgia, says that because of the fact that the customs clearance is higher for old cars, some people choose newer ones but most of them are technically faulty.
The Automobile Federation of Georgia believes that the state should introduce new regulations to encourage its citizens to buy new cars.
“The state should promote people to buy new and ecologically clean cars which will not pollute our environment,” ShalvaObgaidze, the President of the Automobile Federation stated.
From January 1 2018, an article about the mandatory testing of all the vehicles will be activated in the Road Safety Law of Georgia.
By the end of 2017, the infrastructure necessary for the periodic technical inspection of the vehicles will be arranged in every region, and mandatory inspections will go into force from January 2018.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry hopes that this step will reduce the increased number of cars in Georgia.
The Ministry of Economy, along a Swiss company, is carrying out research in this field. However, the exact details are not known yet.
The Ministry stated last year that 30 million USD will be invested in this project, which will also create new jobs.
Around 1000 specialists will be trained and employed in the venture.
