June 15, 2021—New IHS Markit research has found that the average age of cars on U.S. roads hit a record 12.1 years in January, Bloomberg reported.
It’s a small jump from a year prior, when the average age was 11.9 years.
“There doesn’t seem to be a loser here. New vehicles win. The aftermarket wins,” Todd Campau, IHS Markit’s associate director of aftermarket solutions, told the publication. “The older the vehicles are, the more opportunity there is that they are reaching the end of life, which feeds new vehicle buying.”
The global semiconductor shortage along with high prices for new and used cars are some of the reasons for the rise.
“There’s money to be made across the board, but I would probably say the aftermarket stands to gain the most from the used vehicle fleet,” Campau told the publication.
