Cars are becoming commodities being taken for granted in many parts of the world, but in Africa the vehicle distribution is still low, according to the global organization of Motor Vehicle Producers.
As far as the data published by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) is concerned, Libya had the highest car ownership rate in Africa with 490 vehicles per 1000 people.
South Africa takes the second position with 176 cars distributed among 1000 people.
Algeria follows in third place on the continent, with a total of 144 cars shared among 1000 people.
Morocco takes the fourth position in Africa with 112 cars per 1000 residents.
Egypt closes the top-five ranking in Africa with 64 cars per 1000 people, while Nigeria is worth a mention in the sixth position with 56 cars per 1000 persons.
The mean average of car ownership in Africa stands at 49 vehicles per 1000 people.
Apparently, the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) only has data for the six mentioned countries in Africa. The rest of the continent remains blank on the global map of car ownership.
Industry experts explain that most of the cars used in the Sub-Sahara African countries, are usually second-hand, or third-hand contraption that had already been deleted from the data of vehicles in use, thus missing from OICA listings.
In developed countries such as Canada and New Zealand, the car ownership rate is between 30-50 cars per 100 people. In China, there are 15 cars per 100 people.
The World Bank puts the global average car ownership rate at 190 passenger cars per 1,000 people.
Still there is decreasing figures in the number of cars in more developed countries due to the introduction and interest of residents in shared ownership or rental services.
According to the data, New Zealand leads the way globally with the highest vehicle ownership rate, boasting 869 vehicles per 1000 people.
The United States closely follows in second place with 980 cars per 1000 people. In Europe, Poland takes third spot with 761 cars per 1000 people, while Japan follows with 612.
Libya leads the way in Africa with 490 vehicles per 1000 people. Meanwhile, the UAE and Argentina trail behind with 343 and 311 vehicles per 1000 people, respectively.
Business Insider Africa reports that car ownership rates can also be an indicator of a country’s economic development and the high purchasing power of its people.