Identification of the Right Moment for Motor Vehicle Replacement—Life-Cycle Analysis in Serbia and Montenegro

Abstract

This paper deals with the issue of planning the end-of-life phase of motor vehicle life cycles in Serbia and Montenegro. This topic is trending around sustainability issues, given the very unfavorable age structure of vehicles and the increasing import of used cars, which intensifies the problem of the number of waste vehicles. On average, a motor vehicle is in active use for a period of 10 to 15 years. Individual phases of its life cycle are indicated differently, using multiple parameters. All phases are influenced by many factors, but this paper focuses on the phases of active use and the end of life of a motor vehicle. This paper investigates these two phases in terms of the influencing elements. The main aim of this study is to lay the foundations for making adequate decisions on how to handle end-of-life vehicles, from the perspective of their drivers. The study includes performing quantitative research analysis via the k-means clustering technique on a sample of 1240 drivers (private and commercial vehicles), in order to draw concrete conclusions through appropriate statistical analysis. The key findings suggest that different market, business, and environment indicators define the phases of active use and end of life, throughout the life cycle of a motor vehicle. Future research will expand the sample to surrounding countries.

Optimization of Car Use Time for Different Maintenance and Repair Scenarios Based on Life Cycle Assessment

“…To effectively manage a sustainable life cycle, it is necessary to determine the appropriate time to replace the car based on the most significant impact indicators. For this purpose, based on the opinion of drivers, Vesovic et al [9] defined indicators such as average vehicle age, brand loyalty, estimated emissions, maintenance cost in relation to operating costs, recycling potential and external costs. Then, they defined the conditions under which the driver makes a decision to replace the vehicle based on these indicators.…”

“…The study by Vesovic et al [9] challenges the age of the vehicle as a key factor in the decision on vehicle replacement. On the other hand, some other research indicates the potential environmental advantage of extending vehicle lifespan as a way of saving resources, energy and pollution that would otherwise have to be spent on manufacturing new cars [34,35].…”

A model analysis on the knowledge, attitude, and readiness of ELVs policy among Malaysians: A cross-sectional study

“…The application of end-of-life vehicle policy (ELV) has been regarded as a promising solution to reduce the negative impact of a high number of end-of-life vehicles (Deveci et al, 2022;Jacobs et al, 2022;Merkisz-Guranowska & Wrona, 2022;Rajaee et al, 2022;Vesovic et al, 2022). ELV concepts are suitable for reducing, reusing, recycling, recovering, remanufacturing, and redesigning, which leads to a sustainable environment.…”