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.
Highlights
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Motor vehicles represent one of the most resource-intensive products available
This research enabled the introduction of different factors influencing the active use and end of life phases of motor vehicles’ life cycles
Since the characteristics of both lifecycle phases were developed through k-means clustering, it is important to discuss the results alongside previous findings reported by other authors
Summary
Motor vehicles represent one of the most resource-intensive products available. They cause environmental impacts throughout their entire life cycle, including a short period of being new, soon after purchase, followed by a multiyear operating period in which maintenance costs are low, when parts are wearing out through the phase of undisturbed exploitation, and reaching its termination in the end-of-life phase [1]. While decisions for vehicle replacement are most often guided by the economic circumstances of the vehicle owner [4], the most efficient service life of a motor vehicle is dictated by different business, economic and environmental factors for both commercial and passenger motor vehicles. All EU candidate countries (such as Serbia or Montenegro) are obliged to meet strict quality standards in the field of transport and environmental protection, forcing the drivers/owners of passenger and commercial vehicles to adjust to comply with regulations
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