The average age of light-duty vehicles in the United States has increased by nearly two months from last year to reach an all-time high.
According to research firm IHS Markit, the average age of light-duty vehicles in the United States between both cars and light trucks is 12.2 years. The average age of a passenger car in the U.S. is 13.1 years, while the average age of a light truck is 11.6 years.
Rather predictably, this rise in the average age of light vehicles can be attributed to the global microchip shortage and the associated supply chain and inventory challenges it has created. A lack of new car and light truck inventory has compounded with strong demand for personal transportation to drive new vehicle prices up. This is forcing some motorists to make repairs to their existing vehicle rather than replace it with a new one in an attempt to avoid paying inflated prices. This also means there are fewer used vehicles entering the second-hand market, as consumers are less likely to trade their vehicle in for a new one.
These changing market conditions could increase demand for OEM aftersales and service, which may be good news for automakers like GM as their sales numbers dwindle.
“Coupled with increasing average age, strong average vehicle miles traveled points to the potential for a notable increase in repair revenue in the coming year,” Todd Campau, associate director of aftermarket solutions at S&P Global Mobility, told IHS Markit for its study analysis.
The COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to a rise in average vehicle age, as some Americans could no longer rely on public transit to take them to and from work.
“Additionally, the pandemic drove consumers from public transport and shared mobility to personal mobility and since vehicle owners couldn’t upgrade their existing vehicles due to bottlenecks in the supply of new vehicles, the demand for used cars accelerated – boosting vehicle average age further,” IHS Markit explains.
The market research firm expects pent-up demand for new vehicles to take hold mid-decade once the majority of the current supply chain challenges have been addressed. This could drive the average age of vehicles in the U.S. down as more consumers are able to buy the new car, truck, crossover or SUV that they’ve been looking for since the chip shortage took hold of the industry in 2021.
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Comments
If they keep building only SUVs and no cars the average age will be about 25 years!
gm needs to start building cars now not everyone wants a suv and who can afford an electric car and if you live on a second floor apartment how will i charge it overnight
Well yeah! There are no replacements to purchase!
Maybe GM should build a variety of vehicles to appeal to more customers and keep their dealers from price gouging. How about something to compete with the Jeep Wrangler or the Maverick or the Bronco, bring back sporty Pontiac’s and the Impala! And don’t force me into an EV, I will go elsewhere!
The profit margin on pick up trucks is much higher than cars. If they have a limited supply of semi conductors and can sell all the trucks they make then they are making good business decisions for their share holders.