Average Age of Vehicles in the US Rises to 12.8 Years in 2025

One of the clearest shifts influencing these figures is the ongoing consumer pivot from passenger cars to light trucks. This dynamic is clearly visible in vehicle age data: passenger cars now average 14.5 years in service, while light trucks remain younger, showing gradual growth to 11.9 years.

Notably, the number of passenger cars on US roads has dropped below 100 million for the first time since the early 1970s. This decline is part of a gradual transition, with car registrations now making up only about 20% of the market for several years. The vehicle fleet continues to demonstrate impressive resilience even as it faces stress from high new and used prices and economic uncertainty, compounded by challenges in the automotive supply chain.

The increase in average vehicle age isn’t occurring uniformly across the country. Northern Plains and Northwestern states, along with Gulf Coast states like Alabama and Mississippi, have a substantially higher average age than the national average; Montana leads the way with an average vehicle age that is more than five times higher than the national average.

While most states have seen a trend in average age similar to the national data, Colorado and Hawaii have seen their average vehicle age increase at a much slower pace over the last five years. In contrast, eight states, led by Mississippi and North Dakota, as well as Washington, DC, are seeing an average age trend that is noticeably faster than the national rate over the same timeframe. 

Vehicle propulsion type is also influencing the overall aging curve. For the first time in several years there was upward pressure on the average age metric for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) as their rate of sales growth slows. Still, the average age for BEVs remains low at 3.7 years, growing at a similar rate—about two months—as the overall market in 2024.

As consumers have warmed to hybrid options, we have seen average age moderate for both plug-in hybrids, which have stayed flat at 4.9 years, and traditional hybrids, which have reduced in average age from 6.9 to 6.4 in the past year.

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.”