Serbia is at the bottom of the ranking in terms of the average age of the vehicle fleet. The average age of a car in Serbia is over 17 years, and we are the only country in the region that still allows the import of used cars manufactured before 2010.
According to data published by the Serbian Association of Importers of Vehicles and Parts, more than half of imported used cars in 2023 had a Euro 3 or Euro 4 engine.
In 2023, 131.905 used vehicles were imported into Serbia, which is 610 less than a year earlier. As they state, a downward trend is noticeable if you look at the numbers from 2021, when 152.803 used vehicles were imported into Serbia.
Of the total number of imported vehicles, as many as 55,4 percent are those with engines that meet Euro 3 or Euro 4 environmental standards - a total of 73.051 vehicles.
"Oldtimers" are also imported
At the same time, 3.421 vehicles were produced in 2002 or earlier, the association states, adding that only 40 vehicles older than 30 years, which are included in the "old-timer" category, were imported.
5 used vehicles were imported with engines that meet Euro 29.403 emissions standards, and with Euro 6 standards, these are vehicles that began to be produced in 2014, 29.452 vehicles passed through Serbian customs.
Only 700 imported used vehicles were from 2022, 1.025 were those produced in 2021.
The most imported vehicles with Euro 6 engines were produced in 2019, 4.788, and all other vehicles with Euro 6 standards are older than five years.
More diesels
Buyers of used vehicles last year, just like in previous years, mostly bought vehicles with diesel engines under the hood, so in the total structure of imported vehicles in 2023, 64,5 percent of them are.
29,7 percent of buyers opted for vehicles with a gasoline engine, and the remaining 5,8 percent included about 200 purely electric used vehicles.
Buyers of used vehicles in 2023 mostly bought Volkswagen cars, so 27.542 used vehicles of this German brand were registered.
11.768 Audis, 10.869 Opels, 9.932 Peugeots, 8.681 Renaults, 7.888 BMWs, 7.516 Fiats, 7.222 Citroens, 6.433 Mercedes and 6.428 Fords were also imported, it is stated.
Still no ban
Although the ban on importing older used cars into Serbia has been talked about for a long time, when that could happen is still unknown. Serbia remained the only country in the region to import old and cheap cars from the European Union.
Last year, a ban on the import of vehicles with Euro 3 and Euro 4 standards was announced, but that did not happen.
Since 2019, it has been prohibited to import cars with a standard lower than Euro 5 into Bosnia and Herzegovina, and an announcement is coming from Montenegro that they will soon ban the import of cars older than 15 years. If that request is approved, only the import of used cars with at least the Euro 5 standard will be allowed, and the same is true in North Macedonia and Albania.
