The Average Age Of US Vehicles Is At A Record High Of 11.4 Years

The average age of all U.S. light vehicles in 2014 stands at 11.4 years-old, unchanged from 2013 but still a record high, according to Polk-IHS data.

IHS predicts the average vehicle age will remain at 11.4 years through 2015, and then rise to 11.7 years by 2019, AutoNews.com reported. "The slower rate of growth in the average age of a light vehicle, compared with the last five years, reflects the rebound of the auto industry and increase in new-vehicle sales," AutoNews' Nora Naughton writes.

Here's the chart:

Indeed, BI recently made an RBC survey showing vehicle age was the No. 1 reason for buying a new car its chart of the day:

Meanwhile, IHS-Polk also recently posted data showing the average age of new car registrants, and that age for every car in the U.S. This data is slightly skewed by the fact that the registrant population skews older - when a dad buys his son a car, the son is driving it but pops is the one who went to the DMV and got the insurance - but it is nonetheless instructive.

Here's new car registrant age...

And the breakdown by make:

Polk-IHS