Tag Archives: average vehicle age

Perhaps more significantly for automakers, 2011 ended the U.S. vehicle population decline that has occurred annually since 2008. This worrisome trend meant households were decreasing the number of vehicles. According to Polk, the total vehicles in operation – VIO – in July 2011 was just over 240.5 million, an increase of 500,000 units over July in the previous year, and nearly equal to 2009 VIO. The highest VIO on record was achieved in July 2008, when more than 242 million passenger cars and light trucks were on America’s roads. The financial markets collapsed that fall. Continue reading →