Ads blare about the latest new car features. News stories explain how high-tech sensors make new cars expensive to repair. Everyone complains about touchscreens in new vehicles. And yet, the average car on American roads is too old for all that.
According to a study from S&P Global Mobility, the average car on American roads is now 12.6 years old, two months older than last year’s average.
Slow Pandemic-Era Sales Pushing Average Age Higher
The study finds that Americans keep about 286 million registered cars in operation. Less than 90 million (under a third) are less than six years old.
The average car is out of warranty and too old to have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. These smartphone projection technologies debuted in 2014 and 2015 — before the huge touchscreen craze.
The researchers note that new car sales hit historically high volumes from 2015 to 2019. Sales crashed amid COVID-19 lockdowns and parts shortages. More Americans are buying new cars now, but the numbers are not back to pre-pandemic levels.
High prices and interest rates have kept many would-be shoppers driving their old cars for as long as possible. Prices have begun to come down in 2024, but interest rates have not. Insurance costs are also skyrocketing – partly thanks to expensive repairs because of all those high-tech features most drivers don’t have.
But there’s some evidence the aging of the American fleet could reverse soon.
“Increase in average age is showing signs of slowing as new registrations normalize,” the researchers write.
Number of Cars Falling; Trucks and SUVs Growing
The number of vehicles in operation grows constantly as children become drivers and families expand, but some old cars get scrapped as new cars arrive. Watching this trend can teach you a lot about American preferences.
The researchers say Americans have registered 45 million new trucks and SUVs since 2020, but they scrapped 26 million. Passenger cars went the other way, with 27 million destroyed and just 13 million registered.
Older cars are good news for one group of people – those who make their living fixing them. “With average age growth, more vehicles are entering the prime range for aftermarket service, typically from 6 to 14 years of age,” said Todd Campau, aftermarket practice lead at S&P Global Mobility.
