America has enough cars for 86% of people to sit in a driver’s seat all at once, and nearly a fifth of the new ones run on electricity or a combination of gasoline and electricity.
Credit reporting agency Experian publishes one of the most comprehensive summaries of American car ownership once a quarter. Experian tracks registrations to get its data.
Related: EV Sales Set Record In Second Quarter
The company’s latest Automotive Market Trends report is out, tracking cars registered as of the second quarter of 2024.
Among its findings:
- Americans bought 15.5 million new cars and took 11.9 million out of operation between June 30, 2023, and June 30, 2024.
- The growing fleet of cars on American roads doesn’t outnumber Americans. But 86% of us could drive all at once. The nation has 291.1 million cars and, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 337.1 million people.
- Nearly 20% of those new cars were either hybrid-powered or electric. Hybrids made up 11% of new cars registered. Electric vehicles (EVs) made up 8%
- The percentage of gas-powered cars sold is shrinking steadily. In 2021, 80.3% of new registrations were exclusively gas-powered. Last year, that same figure was 72.5%. This year, it’s 70.8%
What the Average Car Looks Like
The average car on American roads is an SUV built by a foreign-owned company with a naturally aspirated 4-cylinder engine and all-wheel drive (AWD), and it’s out of warranty, Experian says.
Breaking that down, as of the second quarter, 56.6% of registered vehicles are SUVs. Pickups make up 22.4% of traffic, with the disappearing passenger car falling to 21%. And 52.4% of engines have four cylinders.
Fifty-seven-point-five percent are naturally aspirated, though turbocharging is on the rise as manufacturers look to sell more powerful engines without sacrificing fuel economy.
According to the data, 35.5% of cars are all-wheel drive, with front-wheel-drive (FWD) models coming in second at 30.4%. And 57.4% of cars are built by foreign-owned companies, with 42.6% built by American automakers.
And, with the average age of cars now 12.6 years, 70.2% of the vehicles around you in traffic are out of warranty.
16% of EV Owners Going Back to Gas
EV owners who replace their electric car tend to do it with another EV, Experian says. To be exact, 77.4% of EV owners who bought another car bought another electric car. Just 16.2% went back to a gas-powered vehicle. Only 3.2% chose a hybrid, and 2.5% chose a plug-in hybrid (PHEV).
PHEVs are hybrids that can recharge their batteries from a wall outlet and make short trips – usually under 35 miles – on electric power alone.
Related: Hybrid Vs. Electric – How To Choose The Right Car For You
Many analysts expect PHEVs to serve as a bridge to eventual EV ownership. If so, it’s not happening yet, Experian says. Just 28.4% of PHEV owners who bought a new car bought an electric one, while 33.6% went back to a gas-powered car.
Those numbers will likely change as America’s EV infrastructure improves.
