NEW YORK (AP) – Drivers are holding on to cars and trucks longer during the coronavirus pandemic.
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The average age of a vehicle on U.S. roads rose by a month this year to a record 11.9 years.
The IHS Markit consulting firm says the pandemic has caused consumers to put the brakes on spending and hold onto their current vehicles for a longer period. As a result, fewer new vehicles are coming onto the roads, pushing up the average age.
IHS said Tuesday that it expects the shift will create opportunities for repair shops and parts sellers because older vehicles need more service. It “anticipates significant upward pressure on average age in 2020 and subsequent years as consumers work toward a new normal both economically and in how they use personal vehicles in a post-COVID-19 era,” said Todd Campau, IHS associate director of aftermarket solutions.
Before the pandemic, U.S. new vehicle sales were expected to be a little under 17 million in 2020, short of the record 17.55 million in 2016, but still at a healthy level. Now most analysts are expecting sales to be around 14 million for the full year.
The average vehicle age has been inching toward 12 years for several years now, and the pandemic is likely to raise it by four to six months in the coming years, IHS said.
IHS says that new vehicle sales were trending down even before the pandemic. New vehicles accounted for 6.1% of the vehicles in use last year, compared with 6.7% in 2016. This year, IHS Markit expects the percentage to fall to 5% or less. “Declining new vehicle share in the overall population means fewer younger vehicles to temper average age growth,” the company said in a statement.
There are about 280 million vehicles registered in the U.S., up 1% from 2019.
If you’re not going anywhere why buy a new car? It’s not necessarily due to finances. Also of they aren’t using them there’s less mileage on the cars so they won’t need that many repairs.
It’s a record long time, but only a month longer than last year’s statistic. That’s just a reminder that even before the virus, people who weren’t rich enough to have money in the stock market were already suffering from the Trump team’s mis-managing of the economy. All Wall street, no Main street eventually makes for riots in the cities even without a pandemic. The only way I see for the Republicans to win the election is a heavy lift: 1] Trump issues an apology and resigns; 2] President Pence pardons Trump; 3] The Republicans hold an open convention and maybe nominate Paul Ryan / Eric Cantor, or anybody, just any other pair as long as they are both a) life-long republicans, and b) did not participate in the Trump era.
As it was explained to me, it has to do with all the pollution control gadgets. All that stuff is required to be under warrantee for 100,000 miles. Oil in the exhaust (“burning oil”) kills all that stuff. So over the years, engines have been machined to tighter and tighter tolerances. As a result the engines last much longer than before.
Or so I was told.