In 2012, research firm R.L. Polk announced that the average vehicle in the U.S. was a whopping 10.8 years old – an all-time high.
Now Polk says the record has been broken again, with the figure now standing at 11.4 years, according to the Washington Post.
To gather its data, Polk looked at registrations for the 247 million vehicles roaming U.S. roads. The age of vehicles has been climbing steadily for years, beginning in 1997, when cars averaged a much-younger 8.4 years.
What’s interesting is that, according to AutoNews, the number of cars, trucks, and SUVs in the six- to 11-year-old range has fallen a bit. However, that’s more than balanced out by vehicles over 12 years old — a group that’s grown by 20 percent.
The two main reasons for the jump? Financial hardship from the Great Recession, and improving quality in automakers products.
