ZAGREB, 26 Jan (Hina) – One in six vehicles inspected at vehicle inspection stations in Croatia in 2025 was found to be unroadworthy, the Centre for Vehicles (CVH) said on Monday.
A total of 2,559,154 regular inspections of vehicles of all categories were carried out, up 2.5% year on year. Of these, 425,498 vehicles, or 17%, were found to be unroadworthy.
Although high, the figure represents a slight decrease compared with 2024, when 427,256 unroadworthy vehicles were recorded, continuing a modest positive trend in reducing their share.
In 2025, 2.8% more defects were identified than in 2024, with each unroadworthy vehicle averaging six faults. Defects were most frequently related to lights and braking systems.
The average age of passenger cars stood at 13.35 years in 2025, a slight improvement from 13.87 years in 2024, while the average age of all vehicles fell marginally from 14.63 to 14.6 years.
During the year, 85,698 used vehicles and 69,680 new vehicles were registered, confirming the continued strong presence of used vehicles on Croatian roads alongside steady interest in new cars.
CVH official Tomislav Škreblin said the data show positive progress in reducing both the share of unroadworthy vehicles and the average age of the vehicle fleet, despite the large number of older vehicles in traffic.
However, the increase in defects per unroadworthy vehicle indicates that faults are often more complex, underscoring the need for regular and high-quality vehicle maintenance, particularly of key safety systems such as brakes and lights, he noted.
