Average Age of Cars On The Road by Year
Hedges & Company gets asked from time to time what’s the average age of cars on the road. We’ve been analyzing automotive data for two decades! Here’s some analysis and projections for the average age of car on the road you that won’t find anywhere else on the internet.
The average age of passenger cars and light trucks (combined) in the US hit 12.6 years in 2024, and will reach 12.8 years in 2025, according to a projection by Hedges & Company. The average age of all light trucks and cars is projected at 13.4 years in 2029.
What is the average age of a car on the road today?
To calculate the average age of a car on the road today, Hedges & Company pulled data is from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Hedges & Company calculated the average age projections through 2029.
The average age of a car is older than the average age of a light truck.
The BTS puts the age of a passenger car at 14 years in 2024 and we’re projecting 14.1 years old in 2025. By contrast, the average age of passenger cars in Europe is 12.3 years in 2024 (ACEA).
The BTS has light trucks at 11.9 years in 2024, we’re projecting 12.1 in 2025.
| Year | Average Age, Passenger Cars |
|---|---|
| 2029 | 14.5 (proj.) |
| 2028 | 14.3 (proj.) |
| 2027 | 14.2 (proj.) |
| 2026 | 14.1 (proj.) |
| 2025 | 14.1 (proj.) |
| 2024 | 14 |
| 2023 | 13.6 |
| 2022 | 13.1 |
| 2021 | 12.9 |
| 2020 | 12.6 |
| 2019 | 12.4 |
| 2018 | 12.1 |
| 2017 | 11.9 |
| 2016 | 11.6 |
| 2015 | 11.5 |
| 2014 | 11.4 |
| 2013 | 11.4 |
Why cars are older than trucks
Why are cars older than light trucks on average? It’s simple: trucks outsell cars about 2 to 1 so there are many more new trucks entering the US car parc every year, lowering the average age of trucks. The current sales trend explains exactly why cars are older.
| Year | Average Age, Light Trucks |
|---|---|
| 2029 | 13.0 (proj.) |
| 2028 | 12.6 (proj.) |
| 2027 | 12.3 (proj.) |
| 2026 | 12.3 (proj.) |
| 2025 | 12.1 (proj.) |
| 2024 | 11.9 |
| 2023 | 11.8 |
| 2022 | 11.6 |
| 2021 | 11.6 |
| 2020 | 11.6 |
| 2019 | 11.6 |
| 2018 | 11.6 |
| 2017 | 11.6 |
| 2016 | 11.6 |
| 2015 | 11.5 |
| 2014 | 11.4 |
| 2013 | 11.3 |
| Year | Average Age, All Light Vehicles |
|---|---|
| 2029 | 13.4 (proj.) |
| 2028 | 13.3 (proj.) |
| 2027 | 13.1 (proj.) |
| 2026 | 13.0 (proj.) |
| 2025 | 12.8 (proj.) |
| 2024 | 12.6 |
| 2023 | 12.5 |
| 2022 | 12.2 |
| 2021 | 12.1 |
| 2020 | 11.9 |
| 2019 | 11.8 |
| 2018 | 11.7 |
| 2017 | 11.7 |
| 2016 | 11.6 |
| 2015 | 11.5 |
| 2014 | 11.4 |
| 2013 | 11.4 |
Americans hold on to their cars longer than ever. In 2000, the average age of a passenger car was only 9.1 years. Ten years later, in 2010, it was 10.8 years old.
Going back to 1995, the farthest the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) data goes, the average age was just 8.4 years old.
The average age of passenger cars vs. light trucks has rarely varied more than six months to a year. They tracked very closely until 2023 when the average age of passenger cars was nearly two years older than light trucks.
If you’re curious, the nation with the oldest average age of vehicles in the world is Bolivia, where vehicles are an average of 18.8 years old. They really hold onto their cars. The nation in the European Union with the oldest passenger cars is Greece, at 17.3 years.
Average age of vehicles on the road and scrappage rate
There are several factors adding to the increasing average age of cars on the road. One, with the recent economic environment and supply chain issues, is that it’s hard to get a new car! That, and the price of a new car (even used cars) really jumped in 2022.
The scrappage rate has influenced the average car age, too. Historically over the past decade or so, the annual scrappage rate for passenger cars dropped from 5.5% per year to the mid-4% range. More current scrappage has gone back up to the 5% range, even with fewer miles driven during the pandemic and rising vehicle prices. Lower sales of new vehicles makes the average car age for vehicles in operation (VIO) even older.
The annual scrappage rate for light trucks is slightly lower than for cars, dropping from about 4.5% in 2009 to the mid-3% range about ten years ago. That scrappage rate is likely to be higher today, too.
| VIN Year Range | % of Vehicles |
|---|---|
| 2020-24 model years | 12% |
| 2015-19 model years | 26% |
| 2010-14 model years | 19% |
| 2005-09 model years | 20% |
| 2000-04 model years | 14% |
| 1995-99 model years | 5% |
| 1990-94 model years | 2% |
| 1985-89 model years | 1% |
| Older than 1985 | 1% |
Average age of cars on the road, by year range
We looked at our database and did an analysis of vehicles on the road by year, by comparing the VIN year of the vehicle. This table shows our results.
Quick side note: The VIN year is the model year of a vehicle, not the year it was sold. It also doesn’t indicate the year it was manufactured. Those are three different things.
For example it’s possible to buy a 2024 model year vehicle in 2023, and the VIN would indicate that it’s a 2024 model year.
It’s also possible—not likely but possible—to purchase a 2025 model year vehicle in 2024 that was manufactured in 2023. Now that we have that out of the way, back to our analysis of average age of cars on the road by year.
How many 20 year old cars are still on the road
According to Hedges & Company, about 68.5 million cars 20 years old and older are still on the road. That is 23% of all cars and light trucks on the road today that are 20 years old or older. The largest age group of cars on the road today are model years 2015 to 2019 model years, which make up approximately 26% of all vehicles. 2010-2015 model year vehicles and 2005-2010 model year vehicles are about 19% and 20%, respectively.
You’re much less likely to see the oldest cars driven around. The oldest group of vehicles, model year 1999 and older, make up just 10% of all vehicles.
Three model years, 2017, 2018 and 2019, each make up at least 5% of all vehicles in the US VIO (VIO is also sometimes called car parc, too).
How many old cars are still on the road?
Car enthusiasts often ask Hedges & Company how many old cars are still on the road. These are also called classic cars by many enthusiasts. The topic of how many classic, antique, vintage or whatever you want to call it, is complicated.
Hedges & Company estimates there are just over 5 million registered classic vehicles being driven, for model years 1919 through 1981. It’s difficult to say how many total older vehicles are left, because not all are registered and driven. We explain this here:
- Some of these older vehicles that are left aren’t in operation all twelve months of the year. These classic cars can fall in and out of active use throughout the year. These classic vehicles can be seen on the road or driven in parades or at car cruises.
- Some classic cars are in various states of restoration, ranging from a “basket case,” or barn find, to nearly completed. These aren’t registered.
- And of course, some classic cars are in museums and not operational.
We estimate that about a third of these older classic vehicles are model years 1960 through 1969. About half are 1970 through 1981 vehicles.
How old are cars?
Some people find this article wanting to know how old cars are, literally, like when were they invented? The oldest car often cited as the first modern car is the Benz Patent-Motorwagen invented by Carl Benz in Germany in 1885. Benz beat other German engineers also working on a car, including Gottlieb Daimler, Siegfried Marcus, and Wilhelm Maybach.
There are, however, older self-propelled vehicles, which you might call a “car,” going back as far as 1649, when Hans Hautsch built a carriage powered by a big clockwork in Nuremberg. In 1769 Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot built a steam-powered tricycle and built steam-powered tractors. Richard Trevithick build a steam-powered “road locomotive.” All steam-powered vehicles are “external combustion” as opposed to today’s internal combustion engine (ICE) powered cars.
In 1807 François Isaac de Rivaz invented the de Rivaz internal combustion engine powered by oxygen and hydrogen. Gustave Trouvé invented a three-wheeled car in 1881 powered by electricity.
According to the book Automobiles (James E. Homans, ©1905), Benz received his internal combustion engine patent for his Patent-Motorwagen in 1885. Arguably, that is the oldest car, but also note that it had 3 wheels so it was a tricycle.1
Car production during World War II
The smallest group of vehicles by model year is easy. Production slowed to a halt in 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1945, when the US was embattled in World War II. The Federal Office of Production Management stopped production and delivery on Jan. 1, 1942, although some production continued until Feb. 22. There was a small stockpile of 1942 model year vehicles that were rationed out to essential drivers during the war.
Domestic production of civilian vehicles basically stopped until October 1945, while factories poured nearly all resources into the war effort. Product ramped back up to what was considered normal beginning with the 1946 model year.
Enthusiasts are more interested in classic cars with more value or rarity. Hagerty estimates there are at least 350,000 original 1965-1966 Ford Mustangs left today.
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1 James E. Homans, ©1905, Automobiles: Self-Propelled Vehicles, a Practical Treatise on the Theory, Construction, Operation, Care and Management, Theo. Audel & Company, New York publishers.
