Analysis of historical vehicle scrapping and survival patterns 1950-1976

This report examines vehicle scrapping in the period December 1971 to June 1976 and historical vehicle survival patterns for private and commercial vehicle types, on the basis of material published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Taking the 1971 census of motor vehicles as the principle point of reference it was found that vehicle survival patterns were best accounted for by functions of a logistic form. One of the possible applications of such functions, the estimation of rates of diffusion of vehicle characteristics is illustrated, by using the function determined for cars and station wagons to estimate present and future vehicle numbers manufactured to comply to specified Australian design rules (a).