The Young and the Carless? The Demographics of New Vehicle Purchases, Accessible Data
PrintAccessible version of figures
Figure 1. Sales of New Light Vehicles, 1999:Q1 to 2015:Q4
Note. Personal sales exclude sales to businesses and governments. Data are seasonally adjusted. Shaded area indicates NBER recession.
Source. Light vehicle sales from Ward's Automotive Group, Ward's Communications. Ward's AutoInfoBank. http://wardsauto.com/miscellaneous/wards-autoinfobank. Personal sales from IHS Automotive, driven by Polk.
| Date | All sales | Personal sales |
|---|---|---|
| 1999:Q1 | 16.34 | 13.06 |
| 1999:Q2 | 16.78 | 13.30 |
| 1999:Q3 | 17.15 | 13.78 |
| 1999:Q4 | 17.34 | 13.61 |
| 2000:Q1 | 18.33 | 14.44 |
| 2000:Q2 | 17.36 | 13.84 |
| 2000:Q3 | 17.32 | 13.81 |
| 2000:Q4 | 16.38 | 12.96 |
| 2001:Q1 | 17.18 | 13.39 |
| 2001:Q2 | 16.71 | 13.24 |
| 2001:Q3 | 16.06 | 12.83 |
| 2001:Q4 | 18.52 | 15.64 |
| 2002:Q1 | 16.67 | 13.47 |
| 2002:Q2 | 16.60 | 13.01 |
| 2002:Q3 | 17.42 | 13.29 |
| 2002:Q4 | 16.57 | 12.98 |
| 2003:Q1 | 16.14 | 12.97 |
| 2003:Q2 | 16.42 | 13.00 |
| 2003:Q3 | 17.22 | 12.97 |
| 2003:Q4 | 16.78 | 13.06 |
| 2004:Q1 | 16.59 | 13.18 |
| 2004:Q2 | 16.67 | 12.92 |
| 2004:Q3 | 17.01 | 12.95 |
| 2004:Q4 | 17.20 | 13.28 |
| 2005:Q1 | 16.57 | 12.78 |
| 2005:Q2 | 17.39 | 13.04 |
| 2005:Q3 | 17.98 | 13.35 |
| 2005:Q4 | 15.85 | 11.98 |
| 2006:Q1 | 16.85 | 12.97 |
| 2006:Q2 | 16.33 | 12.35 |
| 2006:Q3 | 16.53 | 12.38 |
| 2006:Q4 | 16.30 | 12.45 |
| 2007:Q1 | 16.41 | 12.47 |
| 2007:Q2 | 16.08 | 12.09 |
| 2007:Q3 | 15.90 | 11.89 |
| 2007:Q4 | 15.97 | 12.11 |
| 2008:Q1 | 15.10 | 11.54 |
| 2008:Q2 | 14.22 | 10.84 |
| 2008:Q3 | 13.08 | 9.46 |
| 2008:Q4 | 10.37 | 7.83 |
| 2009:Q1 | 9.34 | 7.46 |
| 2009:Q2 | 9.67 | 7.45 |
| 2009:Q3 | 11.72 | 9.12 |
| 2009:Q4 | 10.70 | 8.04 |
| 2010:Q1 | 10.76 | 7.97 |
| 2010:Q2 | 11.46 | 8.41 |
| 2010:Q3 | 11.72 | 8.86 |
| 2010:Q4 | 12.20 | 9.57 |
| 2011:Q1 | 12.74 | 10.11 |
| 2011:Q2 | 12.23 | 9.30 |
| 2011:Q3 | 12.56 | 9.36 |
| 2011:Q4 | 13.37 | 10.42 |
| 2012:Q1 | 14.24 | 10.87 |
| 2012:Q2 | 14.20 | 11.11 |
| 2012:Q3 | 14.33 | 10.96 |
| 2012:Q4 | 14.90 | 11.68 |
| 2013:Q1 | 15.37 | 11.80 |
| 2013:Q2 | 15.44 | 12.14 |
| 2013:Q3 | 15.55 | 12.43 |
| 2013:Q4 | 15.59 | 12.27 |
| 2014:Q1 | 15.71 | 12.49 |
| 2014:Q2 | 16.49 | 12.94 |
| 2014:Q3 | 16.66 | 13.11 |
| 2014:Q4 | 16.72 | 13.11 |
| 2015:Q1 | 16.67 | 13.00 |
| 2015:Q2 | 17.09 | 13.32 |
| 2015:Q3 | 17.76 | 13.87 |
| 2015:Q4 | 17.80 | 14.00 |
Figure 2. Average Age of New Vehicle Buyers and Median Age of the U.S. Population, 1996 to 2015
Note. Shaded area indicates NBER recession.
Source. Consumer Expenditure Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics; Power Information Network – PIN, a business division of J.D. Power and Associates; and United States Census Bureau.
| Date | New Vehicle Buyers - J.D. Power | New Vehicle Buyers - CE Survey | Median Age of U.S. Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | na | 47.0 | 34.7 |
| 1997 | na | 47.5 | 34.9 |
| 1998 | na | 48.2 | 35.2 |
| 1999 | na | 47.9 | 35.5 |
| 2000 | 43.4 | 48.6 | 35.4 |
| 2001 | 44.4 | 48.4 | 35.5 |
| 2002 | 45.0 | 49.1 | 35.7 |
| 2003 | 45.5 | 48.5 | 35.9 |
| 2004 | 45.7 | 50.0 | 36.0 |
| 2005 | 45.8 | 49.4 | 36.2 |
| 2006 | 45.9 | 50.8 | 36.3 |
| 2007 | 46.3 | 50.5 | 36.5 |
| 2008 | 47.0 | 51.5 | 36.7 |
| 2009 | 49.3 | 53.6 | 36.8 |
| 2010 | 48.9 | 50.6 | 37.2 |
| 2011 | 48.5 | 52.2 | 37.3 |
| 2012 | 48.6 | 51.2 | 37.5 |
| 2013 | 48.8 | 53.9 | 37.6 |
| 2014 | 48.6 | 52.6 | 37.7 |
| 2015 | 48.4 | na | na |