The average age of U.S. light vehicles rose to 12.8 years, an increase of two months for the second consecutive year in 2024, according to new analysis from S&P Global Mobility.

Vehicle registrations surpassed 16 million in 2024 for the first time since 2019, but it was not enough to offset the growing volume of aged vehicles as vehicles in operation grew to 289 million with a steady 4.5% scrappage rate. Passenger cars dropped below 100 million for the first time since the 1970s according to S&P Global Mobility’s research.

“Passenger cars are continuing a steady decline toward equilibrium as consumer preference shifts to light trucks,” said Todd Campau, Aftermarket Practice Lead at S&P Global Mobility. “The vehicle fleet continues to demonstrate impressive resilience even as it faces stress from high new and used prices and economic uncertainty.”

The average age for passenger cars climbed to 14.5 years, while light trucks average is showing very gradual growth to 11.9 years.

Northern Plains, Northwest, and Southern states like Mississippi and Alabama are seeing higher-than-average vehicle ages, with Montana leading by over five years. Some states, including Mississippi and North Dakota as well as the District of Columbia, are seeing acceleration in vehicle age, while Colorado and Hawaii are aging far more slowly.

“The macro trend for average age may not correlate with what consumers see in their community, as aging rates can vary significantly from region to region,” said Campau.

For the first time in several years there is upward pressure on the average age metric for Battery Electric Vehicles as their sales growth slows. Average age for BEVs still remains low, at 3.7 years, with growth in line with the overall market in 2024. As consumers have warmed to hybrid options, Plug-In Hybrids’ aging has stayed flat at 4.9 years, and traditional Hybrids have reduced in average age from 6.9 to 6.4 in the past year. According to Campau, “Consumer preference currently is favoring hybrid and plugin hybrid options over fully battery electric vehicles to a large extent, driving average age to flat or even negative for those propulsion types. Alternative propulsion average age will continue to depend heavily on consumer sentiment for the next several years as they continue to build overall share in the vehicle fleet.”

As the cost of both new and used vehicles continue to be elevated, and the vehicle fleet growing to 289M, up 3M since 2024, aftermarket opportunities are expected to continue to grow. With the heavy vehicle registration years of 2015 – 2019 moving into the aftermarket space, there will be stronger opportunity for maintenance and repair as these vehicles roll off warranty.

New-vehicle sales momentum continued from the end of March and into April, before beginning to taper off. New-vehicle inventory declined further, by 7.4% from March, according to the Cox Automotive analysis of vAuto Live Market View data.

May opened with a total supply of new vehicles on dealer lots across the U.S. at 2.49 million units, down 7.4% from the 2.69 million units at the start of April and down 10.5% from a year ago. Seasonal patterns persist, as it is not unusual to see sales rise during the traditional “spring bounce.” Inventory, however, is not being replenished at the same rate. Some automakers are likely holding the line on deliveries and production, as everyone struggles with the uncertainty surrounding the administration’s tariff policies.

Cox Automotive’s vAuto Live Market View days’ supply is based on the estimated retail sales pace for the most recent 30-day period. New-vehicle days’ supply, at the start of May, was 66, down 16 days compared to last year and down six days from last month.

Consumer demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has remained stable, according to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration (EVC) Study,^SM  released today. The study reveals that 24% of vehicle shoppers say they are “very likely” to consider purchasing an EV and 35% say they are “somewhat likely,” both of which remain unchanged from a year ago.  

“Despite the market volatility, EVs have found a solid ground for consumer consideration,” said Brent Gruber, executive director of the EV practice at J.D. Power. ”To further capitalize on that interest and spur adoption moving forward, the industry needs to have products that meet consumer needs and wants at prices that are affordable. Additionally, the industry should better educate consumers about EV ownership to ease concerns—many of which, such as those related to public charging, are less problematic than they might seem when it comes to actually owning an EV.”

Following are some key findings of the 2025 study: 

• EV customers active in cross-shopping: EV shoppers who say they are “very likely” to consider an EV cross-shop an average of 2.9 brands, while those who say they are “somewhat likely” shop an average of 2.8 brands. This is in alignment with the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index Study, ^SM which found EV buyers shopped 3.0 different dealer brands compared to 2.5 for gas-powered vehicle shoppers. “As more EV options come to market, this should serve as an encouraging sign for automakers because it’s an opportunity for them to gain a foothold and pull shoppers from outside their brands. This year’s study results also show that EV shoppers consider products from mass market and premium brands alike, highlighting the opportunity to capture consumer interest with brands or products that shoppers may not have otherwise considered,” Gruber said.
• Purchase price and cost of ownership concerns decline, while charging concerns persist: Charging station availability remains the top concern, with 52% of shoppers citing it as a reason for rejecting EVs. The continuing concern with charging, coupled with flattening overall EV interest, points to a lack of progress in consumer education on these issues. However, while consumer rejection due to purchase price has dropped 4 percentage points year over year to 43%, concern with cost of ownership has dropped 2 percentage points to 33%.
• Young and higher-income shoppers show most interest but rarely overlap: Only 17% of consumers who are in the 25-49 age range have an annual income of over $100,000. “It’s an interesting dichotomy because younger consumers are the most receptive to EVs, but also the least likely to be able to afford them, while older consumers have the financial means but show less interest,” Gruber said. “Much of the recent growth in the EV space has been fueled by products from mass market brands, which demonstrates the pent-up demand for more affordable products.”
• Midwest states least enthusiastic about EVs: When looking at EV consideration by region, the lowest shares of consumers who say they are “very likely” to consider purchasing an EV live in Wisconsin and Kentucky (18% each), Minnesota (17%) and Ohio (16%). This is influenced by several factors, including concerns about EV performance in cold climates and the stronger loyalty of consumers in these regions to traditional automakers.

The market continues to defy typical seasonal trends, posting a +0.11% increase last week, a notable contrast to the pre-pandemic average for this week, which typically saw a decline of just around -0.20%, according to Black Book’s weekly insights.

Nationwide sales rates remain robust, consistently averaging above 60%, with strong bidder attendance and level of bidding activity.

Car Segments:

• On a volume-weighted basis, the overall Car segment increased +0.08% For reference, in the previous week, cars increased +0.17%.
• The 0-to-2-year-old Car segments were up +0.18% and 8-to-16-year-old Cars increased +0.13%.
• Six of the nine Car segments reported an increase in values last week.
• After eight consecutive weeks of gains, averaging a weekly increase of +0.31%, the Compact Car segment experienced a shift last week, declining by -0.31%. Vehicles aged 0 to 2 years also saw a decrease of -0.28%, while those aged 8 to 16 years continued to rise, recording an increase of +0.13%.
• The Full-Size Car segment recorded its tenth consecutive week of gains last week, posting an increase of +0.45%. This surpasses the ten-week average weekly increase of +0.40%.
•  

Truck / SUV Segments:

• The volume-weighted, overall Truck segment increased +0.11% compared to the increase seen the prior week of +0.26%.
• The 0-to-2-year-old models saw an average increase of +0.18% and the 8-to-16-year-old models experienced an average increase of +0.11%.
• Nine of the thirteen Truck segments experienced an increase in values last week.
• The Minivan segment continues to show substantial weekly gains, rising by +0.75% last week, following a +0.84% increase the prior week. Over the past nine weeks, the segment has averaged a weekly increase of +0.48%.
• After eleven consecutive weeks of gains, the Full-Size Crossover/SUV segment experienced a decline of -0.32%. Vehicles aged 8 to 16 years saw a steeper drop of -0.64%, while those aged 0 to 2 years decreased by -0.20%.