DETROIT — That clunker in America’s driveway has reached a record old age, but there are signs that people may be growing confident enough in the economy to get a whiff of that fresh new-car scent soon.
The average age of a car or truck in the U.S. hit a record 10.8 years last year as job security and other economic worries kept many people from making big-ticket purchases such as a new car.
That’s up from the old record of 10.6 years in 2010, and it continues a trend that dates to 1995, when the average age of a car was 8.4 years, according to a study of state vehicle-registration data by the Southfield, Mich.-based Polk automotive research firm. However, Polk vice president Mark Seng said a rebound in sales last year and expected growth for the next couple of years are likely to slow the growth rate in the age of cars as a whole in America. Polk has not predicted if or when the age will start to drop, but Seng doesn’t see that happening for at least two or three years, if not longer.
“It’s going to take the good economy several years of very high sales again, and people being willing to let go of those older vehicles that they’ve been holding onto,” Seng said.
Last year, auto sales rebounded a bit to 12.8 million vehicles, especially in November and December, when sales were unusually strong. The Associated Press
