LAS VEGAS – June 27, 2025 – The average age of U.S. vehicles, including light trucks, rose to 12.8 years in 2025, according to a new analysis from S&P Global Mobility.

When considered separately, the average age for passenger cars climbed to 14.5 years, while light trucks experienced more gradual growth to 11.9 years.

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 in a statement. “The vehicle fleet continues to demonstrate impressive resilience even as it faces stress from high new and used prices and economic uncertainty.”

EVs are aging out of warranty and into the aftermarket

For the first time in several years, there is upward pressure on the average age metric for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) as their sales growth slows.  The average age for BEVs 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. 

“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,” Campau added in the statement. “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.” 

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