Yes, Cars on the Road Are Getting Older, SEMA Confirms
The Specialty Equipment Market Association, which you might be familiar with as a result of their massive annual trade show in Las Vegas, represents over 7000 member companies that “create, buy, sell, and use specialty-automotive parts that make vehicles more unique, attractive, convenient, safer, fun, and even like new again.” As a result, they tend to have a finger on the pulse of the consumer automotive business.
That’s evident from a new survey SEMA has done “on the latest trends and developments in vehicle lifecycles, and providing new insights for those who provide parts for accessorizing and modifying the U.S.’s more than 289 million vehicles.”
The bad news: Unless you are a SEMA member, you have to ante up $1500 for the report. The good news: We have the highlights here.
• Vehicles are staying on the road longer, a continuing trend. The average U.S. vehicle age is now at 12.6 years, its highest number in over a decade. Passenger cars are now an average of 14 years old (up from 13.6), while light trucks rose slightly to 11.9, from 11.8.
• The used-car market ticks downward but remains historically high. The average listing price of a used vehicle in the U.S. is $25,251, as of July 2024. Car values have fallen faster than that of light trucks, with the sharpest decrease in overall vehicle value found in EVs (-11 percent).
• Stabilization of new vehicle prices are offset by the climb of interest rates in recent years. The average new vehicle price sits at $48,644, down slightly from the year prior, and halting a dramatic climb that began in the beginning of 2021. However, interest rates for new and used vehicles continue to hound buyers, remaining significantly higher than those offered in 2021-2022, regardless of loan-term length.
• Automakers are producing fewer entry-level vehicles. While new vehicle inventory in 2024 has reached a three-and-a-half-year high, small cars and other entry-level vehicles (those priced below $20,000) make up just 0.7 percent of the market, compared with seven percent five years ago. This lack of affordability has a profound impact on younger people, who are historically more price-sensitive than older drivers.
• We’ve had two decades of increasingly dependable vehicles. Since 2003, vehicles have exhibited fewer problems, highlighting a growing reliability that is a boon to consumers. However, recent years have yielded an increase in vehicle issues tied to new technology-based automotive features, including driving assistance and infotainment systems; this trend could impact future dependability.
• The nation’s fleet of vehicles is growing. The past year saw the net addition of 3 million more vehicles to the roads, with crossovers (72.7 million) closing the gap with passenger cars (89.2 million) as the dominant segment of the entire fleet. However, compared to 10 years ago, vehicle registrations skew more heavily toward light trucks than cars.
• SEMA’s core, the specialty-equipment aftermarket continues to grow and is expected to keep growing. Specialty equipment retail sales in 2023 surpassed $52.3 billion and are forecasted to grow to more than $57 billion by 2026.
The research also reveals trends across four categories of vehicles (Classic, Aged, Core, and Modern), highlighting age, popularity, usage, and consumer spending habits. For accessorizing, pickups and muscle cars are the top choices for enthusiasts. Meanwhile, vehicles in the Aged category are driving spending for performance products, as a way to refresh their older vehicle. Aftermarket product spending for Modern and Core vehicles (59 percent and 54 percent respectively) was primarily on accessory and appearance products, while 43 percent of spending on Classic vehicles was for performance products.
If you aren’t a SEMA member and want to spend money on a copy of the report, it’s here.
I’m doing my part to get that average high. My wife’s is 14 years old, my daily drivers are 24 and 26 years old. The others range from 30-72 years old. My upcoming teenage driver will do her part too when I put her in something from the 1990s.
Nice use of stock Getty Images – ‘ No time! I have got to go now! ‘- An insightful and comprehensive look at the SEMA show and an example of “authentic frontier gibberish “.
I understood that reference. 🙂
My daily is now legal to drink this year, and I have a 44 year old tagged toy in the garage, so I guess I’m skewing the average.
I think we’ll eventually find the 2000-2010 range was a sweet spot for vehicles. Lots of physical safety features (airbags, crumple zones), still very analog feeling (little to no drive/steer by wire), reliable from a mechanical standpoint well into 200k miles plus (with proper care), and far less complex (with the attendant rise in things to go wrong).
Let’s see, 15, 25, 25, 34, and 62 years sold. The 15 year old car, a 2009 Civic Si gets driven the least, at least until winter comes around, it is also by far the most issues, most of them electrical. I personally think automotive tech peaked in the 90s or early 00s. Very reliable engine control, yet no fussy interior electronics to worry about. Buttons had one task each. They were great and I continue to support driving 90s or earlier cars.
27+ year old sports car, 11+ year old daily driver that the wife drives and now a 1+ year old new daily. I am not planning on making any changes anytime soon. Most new cars don’t interest me and they are just too pricey for what you get and the interest rates don’t help. So my fleet will get older and I’m fine with that.
Hmmmm… we have one 2024, a 2020, one that’s 32 years old, and one that’s 57. Even with the nearly new cars I skew rather high at 23.75. 🙂
Oldest average in 10 years, that could be economy related. Meaning more folks are holding off on getting that new/ newer vehicle because their finances aren’t looking awesome. I’ve seen it myself with friends/ family/ coworkers.
With the cost of repair to new cars with all the electronics nannying over you, no thanks. The fewer computers, the better. I love my 64 built Mustang.
Everyday cars-1998 4Runner, 2005 MINI Cooper, 2003 Mazda Protege.
Hobby cars-1947 MG TC, 1967 MGB/GT, 1974 MGB, 1975 TR6, 1990 Mazda MX5, 1996 MGF.
Motorbike-2023 Kawasaki KLR650, only newish one of the lot.
I’m sure most of the readers here are doing their part to push the average higher. This household has 7 vehicles with an average age of 28.3 years. Wife’s car is the newest at 15 YO. My daily is 32 YO.
I agree with JW on the sweet spot for the decade of manufacture. We have 4 in range from 2001 to 2009. All OBDII, only one has a screen, very little nannying, and very few problems.
I currently have a mix of both.
Daily’s- 2019 Tacoma, 2024 KLR 650
Toys- 1977 Sierra Grande, and a 1999 HD Sportster
Our newest is 20 years old, followed by 24, 29, 36 and 57. So we helped to produce the title of this article.
Hhmmmm…a ’21 Outback XT, a ’03 Outback H6, a “04 E150, a ’91 Cherokee, a ’76 911, a ’74 911, a ’72 510 Race Car, a ’69 912, a ’95 Triumph Tiger, a ’97 955 Triumph, and a ’74 Trident Triumph. Let the psychologists figure it out because I can’t explain it either.