Croatia Online - An Affluent Society?

It appears that in 2006, a record number of 78,775 new cars were registered in Croatia. That’s 1.75% of the 4.5 million population which means that roughly every 57th man, woman or child bought a new car last year. If we could exclude children and pensioners from the population statistics, and judging from what we see on the streets, it’s a fair bet that there’s a huge proportion of 30 and 40 somethings with newish wheels.

Tightening credit, poor financial regulation and low incomes don’t seem to dampen down the enthusiasm for a decent car on the “never never”. Average income is around £6,000 a year though unofficial earnings would raise this figure considerably if declared. Let’s hope the new generation of baby boomers in Croatia learn from mistakes made earlier, elsewhere in the world, and don’t have to go through both parts of the boom or bust cycle.

For those interested in the detail, the top ten most popular makes and models, together with the number sold and their percentage of the total, were:

1 Opel Astra - 7,000, 8.89%
2 Renault Clio - 4,860, 6.17%
3 Fiat Punto - 3,021, 3.83%
4 Skoda Octavia - 2,887, 3.66%
5 Skoda Fabia - 2,540, 3.22%
6 Opel Corsa - 2,481, 3.15%
7 VW Golf - 2,393, 3.04%
8 Renault Megane - 1,936, 2.46%
9 VW Passat - 1,855, 2.35%
10 VW Polo - 1,824, 2.32%

Apologies for the layout - blogger doesn't lend itself to tables!

Source: Auto Supplement, Slobodna Dalmacija 9.1.2007