Regional characteristics and the distribution of car engine sizes: A case study of Ireland

This paper examines whether regional characteristics can have a significant impact on the engine sizes of the car fleet in Ireland. Disposable income is found to be the dominant factor in determining the purchase probabilities of car engine size, but in addition a combination of high population density and the availability of rail transport can reduce the demand for medium and large engine sized vehicles, as well as for new cars generally. Bus services, however, only serve as a substitute for small engine cars.

► Examination of regional differences in a range of physical and socio-economic variables in Ireland are shown to influence the size of car engines.
► Disposable income is the dominant factor in car engine size selection.
► Demographic, geographic and infrastructure factors are also relevant.