U.S. Vehicle Fleet Getting Older

The average age of passenger vehicles in American households jumped 13% from 9.3 years in 2009 to 10.5 years in 2017, according to the U.S. Dept. of Transportation.

The trend indicates consumers are holding onto their vehicles longer and postponing the purchase of new models. This also raises fleet fuel consumption and tailpipe emissions, the report notes, because newer vehicles tend to be more efficient.

Pickup trucks continued to be the oldest vehicles on the road with an average age of 13.6 years in 2017, up from 11.2 years in 2009. SUVs are the youngest at 8.5 years, followed by cars (10.3) and vans (10.9).

The gap in vehicle age between lower- and higher-income households shrank in 2009. But there still is a four-year difference between the age of vehicles in households that earn less than $25,000 per year (13 years) and those that earn more than $100,000 (8.9 years).

The findings are part of DOT’s National Household Travel Survey, which has been conducted eight times since 1969. Americans traveled more than 2.1 billion miles last year, according to the report.