The combined average age of all light vehicles on the road in the U.S. stayed at at 11.4 years, as of Jan. 1 2014, reported IHS Automotive. It is the oldest cars have stayed since 1995, when the data was first reported.
In 2003, there were cell phones but no iPhones or Android phones. The older the car, the less connected it will be. There appears to big market for head units and other connected car features for older model cars. Most people keep their cars an average of six years.
IHS forecasts that average age of vehicles is likely to remain at 11.4 years through 2015, then rise to 11.5 years by 2017 and 11.7 years by 2019.
The number of vehicles scrapped in 2013 decreased from previous years, with just over 11.5 million vehicles scrapped during the 12-month timeframe reported IHS Automotive
Based on the growth of new vehicle registrations in the past few years as the U.S. auto industry has rebounded, IHS Automotive forecasts that the volume of vehicles 0-5 years old will increase by 32 percent over the next five years while vehicles in the 6-11 year old category will decline by 21 percent.
Because of improved quality and consumers holding their cars and light trucks longer, vehicles 12-plus years old continue to grow and will increase by 15 percent by 2019.