Average Age of Cars in the US Jumps to 11.5 Years - East Idaho News
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Average Age of Cars in the US Jumps to 11.5 Years

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GETTY 73015 CarsRoad?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1438258628248AbleStock.com/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Americans are keeping their cars vehicles longer than ever before, new data shows.

According to IHS Automotive, the average age of all passenger cars and light trucks in the U.S. is now 11.5 years, a slight increase from last year.

This rising age is partly due to the growing reliability of automobiles and the recession.

 “As long as we have tracked average age, it has gradually risen over time due to the increasing quality of automobiles,” Mark Seng, the global aftermarket practice leader at IHS Automotive, said in a statement. “For the five to six years following the recession, however, average age increased about five times its traditional rate, which we attribute to the nearly 40 percent drop in new vehicle sales in 2008-2009.”

“We’re now seeing average age begin to plateau and return to its traditional rate of increase as consumers have recovered from the great recession and have begun buying new vehicles again,” Seng added.

IHS predicts the average age of vehicles on the road will jump to 11.6 years in 2016, and then stall a bit before hitting 11.7 in 2018.

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