Koreans Buying Second Cars- Average Car Ownership Now 5 Years

The Korean Times reported that the larger the car, the more it has to travel. The average number of years that a motorist keeps a new car is five years. People are buying more second cars than ever before.

These are some of the latest trends that Hyundai Motor has found through a survey of some 4,000 customers who bought new vehicles last year.

According to the results, the most traveled automobiles are sports utility vehicles (SUVs) which clocks on an average of 1,937 kilometers per month, just ahead of minivans with 1,898 kilometers.

On the other end of the scale were light compacts which do 1,408 kilometers per month, followed by mini-cars with 1,483 kilometers and compacts with 1,536 kilometers.

``It was interesting to find that semi-luxury and luxury vehicles runs up more kilometers than mini-cars or compacts,'' said one Hyundai official. Semi-luxury cars clocked on 1,644 kilometers and luxury vehicles 1,772 kilometers.

As for the duration of ownership, the respondents said they got rid of their previous cars after four years and eleven months, considerably longer than the three years and eight months of 1996.

``This is an indication that the improvement in technology is making it possible for motorists to keep their vehicles in good condition for much longer than before,'' the Hyundai official said.

Meanwhile, the percentage of consumers buying second cars was found to be increasing at a rapid rate, soaring from 6.9 in 1997 and 1998 to 16.6 in 2000.

On the other hand, the percentage of motorists purchasing new cars as the only vehicle has been falling from 31.1 in 1997 to 21 in 1998, 22.3 in 1999 and 17.5 in 2000.