July 9, 2020—According to auto industry analyst Jim Lang's recent report, domestic nameplate cars across the U.S. averaged 14.8 years of age at the outset of 2020, establishing a new record.
Domestic nameplate cars' average age has climbed more than 2.0 years over the past decade, and is now more than one-fifth older than the average age of all light vehicles on U.S. roads, Lang notes. The age of domestic nameplate cars averaged 12.7 years at the beginning of 2010 before reaching 13.5 years in 2014 and 13.8 years in 2015. By 2018, that average age had reached 14.4 years.
Lang noted in his report that a few main factors drove domestic cars' average age higher, including: lower new car sales, the expanding new car sales share captured by foreign nameplates (both imports and "transplants") and longer-lasting domestic nameplate cars on U.S. roads.
Also, Lang said, the declining number of domestic nameplate cars entering service during each of the last 10 years has driven up the average age of those remaining on the road.
