The average age of cars and light trucks on U.S. roads rose slightly to 11.5 years at the start of 2015, as the rate of aging slows because of the recovery of new-vehicle sales, consultant IHS Automotive said.
“Consumers are now being driven back to the showroom,” Mark Seng, global aftermarket practice leader at IHS Automotive, said in a telephone interview. “It’s a good story for U.S. vehicles and a great time for the automotive industry because of how strong sales are.”
The average age in 2014 was 11.4 years.
Vehicles are lasting longer because of better quality, but the pace of growth in the average age has tailed off. It’s poised to climb to 11.6 years in 2016 and reach 11.7 years in 2018, IHS said Wednesday in a statement. IHS Automotive is part of Douglas County-based IHS Inc.
