Just this (a bit) funny picture today and some matching numbers.

While hiking the other day, a car drove towards me with its long side in front.

Looking closer, it was a retired car on a forklift, perhaps on its way to the junkyard.

According to the German Federal Environment Agency, around 500,000 end-of-life vehicles are scrapped annually in Germany.

At the same time, around 3 million new cars are registered every year. 

One could think that the number of cars on German roads increases by a balance of 2.5 million yearly. But that’s not the case since many old cars are sold abroad.

The balance is positive nonetheless. Year by year, more cars are added to German roads than old cars disappear. As a consequence, there have never been more registered cars in Germany: in 2022, 48.5 million cars.

Isn't it surprising that in times when there is so much talk about the need for the expansion of public transport, private transport continues to increase?

Onwards, 

The Strolling Economist