According to the latest analysis, Lada has the oldest car lineup, while Zeeker has the newest. The analysis covers 71 brands, including eight from China, and 766 models. The average age is calculated from the time of the production model’s launch or unveiling until July 2023, excluding basic rebadges, light commercial vehicles, and passenger cars derived from them.
Lada With The Oldest Cars
Lada, the top car brand in Russia, has the oldest cars. Despite the strategic relaunch of the company with the help of Renault, Lada currently offers five types of passenger cars with an average age of 21.6 years. The Niva, launched in 1977, is one of the contributing factors to this outcome, along with models like the Largus, Granta, and Vesta.
Three Stellantis Brands Follow
Chrysler, Lancia, and Dodge follow Lada as brands with the oldest cars. Chrysler, in particular, needs fresh produce as it prepares to halt production of the Chrysler 300. The median age of its smaller lineup is 13.5 years. Lancia follows with the 12.4-year-old Ypsilon, and Dodge has an average age of 11 years.
From The East
The youngest cars come from China. Zeekr by Geely, founded in 2021, has the youngest range with an average age of 1.2 years. NIO, another Chinese manufacturer, follows closely with an average age of 1.4 years for its seven vehicles.
Hyundai Dynamism
Surprisingly, Hyundai, along with its sister brands Genesis and Kia, has one of the youngest lineups despite being a historic car brand with 32 different models. The average age of Hyundai’s lineup is 3.1 years, with the European Hyundai i30 being the oldest product presented in September 2016. Genesis and Kia are not far behind with average ages of 3.1 and 4.7 years, respectively.
Other notable brands include Toyota with an average age of 4.6 years, Honda with 4.3 years, and Ford with 4.1 years. Nissan, Chevrolet, and Volkswagen have the oldest lineups among the major global brands, all with an average product age of more than six years.
The author of the article, Felipe Munoz, is an Automotive Industry Specialist at JATO Dynamics.