Origin.
The 401 highway in Ontario, Canada is North America's busiest highway and one of the widest as well. It stretches 828.0 KM from Windsor, Ontario all the way to the Ontario- Quebec border. Over 500,000 vehicles use the 401 every day but, where do most of those vehicles come from?
Statsauto has analyzed a 48,000+ of Canadian used vehicles to determine which countries these vehicles originate from. The next time you are stuck in traffic on the 401 - you will know a thing or two about the makeup of the vehicles around you.
Below is a breakdown of the volume of used car transactions across Canada. It comes to no surprise that the Toronto area has the largest share of used vehicle trasactions as it is the most populated city in Canada. ( We assume Montreal is a close second due to its location on the St.Lawrence River from which cargo ships enter/exit Canada).
48,000+ observations from the summer of 2016
So, which countries do all these cars originate from?
Breakdown of Manufacturer Origin
It is clear that the majority of cars originate from America (Canada's Largest Trading Partner).
The chart above compares the origin breakdown in Toronto & Montreal to Canada-wide. Why? The comparison between two large metropolitan cities and Canada as a whole is a good indicator of consumer preference. People in big cities have a higher per capital income - therefore we assume that you can see more German and British cars in the city compared to the national average. People in big cities also commute more than the national average therefor you see more Japanese cars in the city as they are more reliable than cars from other origins.
Well now that you know that 49.47% of cars stuck in the 401 rush hour traffic are American what will you think next? How about their average age?
Boom!
Average Year of used cars by origin
Why are Italian cars so young? It could be due to Fiats recent entry into North America which flooded the market with new Fiat 500s ( Ferrari and Lamborghini #'s are so small that they are insignificant, in our sample there we 7 Lamborghini and 8 Ferrari's sold).
What other factors can we look at? Money, money, money! With Money, let's also take into consideration average Mileage in KM.
Average Price and Mileage per Origin
It seems on average British cars are the most expensive with relatively low mileage. So next time you see that Range Rover drive by you will know a thing or two. Korean cars which include Kia and Hyundai are fairly new with an average year of 2011.09 - However, they are the cheapest cars on average.
If you are thinking how on earth are these numbers accurate the next time you are stuck in traffic on the 401 then here is a little Stats 101. The Law of Large Numbers is a theorem stating that results obtained from a large sample (such as 48,000+) should be close to the 'true' expected value. As the number of the sample increases, the actual ratios will converge to the 'true' ratios.
Next time you are in traffic, expect 32.7% of cars beside you to be Japanese - try counting it by hand and let us know!
"Take the high road, there's a lot less traffic up there." - Dr.Phil
References
Maier, Hanna (October 9, 2007). "Chapter 2". Long-Life Concrete Pavements in Europe and Canada (Report). Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
