R. L. Polk & Co.: Vehicle Age on the Rise

The median age of passenger cars in operation remained at 9.2 years in 2007, tying a record high in 2006, according to the vehicle population report recently released by R. L. Polk & Co.

The median age for trucks increased 5.8 percent to 7.3 years in 2007. Though registrations were down, the median age for light trucks in 2007 increased by 4.4 percent to 7.1 years.

The percentage of total passenger cars and trucks scrapped in 2007 was up slightly to 5.2 percent, compared to 5.0 percent in 2006. The scrappage rate for passenger cars increased to 5.5 percent in 2007 from 4.9 percent. (TABLE B).

Polk's vehicle population report data is updated annually on July 1, following an in-depth analysis of more than 248 million vehicles.