By Paul Lienert
(Reuters) – Americans in the twilight of the COVID pandemic are keeping their internal combustion engine vehicles longer, according to a new study.
The average age of U.S. cars and light trucks has risen to a record 12.5 years this year, according to the study, due to the impact of supply restrictions on dealer inventories of new vehicles in 2022, as well as reduced consumer demand from higher inflation and interest rates. by S&P Global Mobility.
Despite six consecutive years of increases, the average age of vehicles is expected to drop in the coming year as rising availability and renewed demand will push new vehicle sales above 14.5 million by 2023, the S&P study said. .
According to S&P, electric vehicles are going against the aging trend.
In fact, the average age of battery electric vehicles (BEV) in the US fell to 3.6 years, down slightly from 3.7 years in 2022. That figure has fluctuated between 3 and 4 years since 2017, the group said.
S&P said rapidly rising BEV sales in the US — up 58% by 2022 — keep that industry’s median age relatively young, despite a greater percentage of electric vehicles leaving the vehicle population, compared to internal combustion engine vehicles .
In the 10-year period from 2013-2022, 6.6% of BEVs in service were retired. During the same period, only 5.2% of internal combustion engine vehicles left the fleet, according to S&P.
(Reporting by Paul Lienert in Detroit. Editing by Jane Merriman)
