The United States is home to the second largest passenger vehicle market of any country in the world, second to China since 2009. Overall, there were an estimated 263.6 million registered vehicles in the United States in 2015, most of which were passenger vehicles. This number, along with the average age of vehicles, has increased steadily since 1960. The United States is also home to three large vehicle manufacturers: General Motors, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler, which have historically been referred to as the "Big Three".
Cars became popular in the U.S. after the introduction of the Ford Model T in 1908, and experienced a further increase in popularity after the construction of the Interstate Highway System and the suburbanization of the United States in the 1950s. In the 21st century, large SUVs have become popular in the U.S., leading to increased greenhouse gas emissions and pedestrian deaths.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration writes and enforces the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
The United States is commonly regarded as a car-centric country, with cars being a dominant American mode of transport. U.S. infrastructure and road rules tend to privilege cars over other road users such as cyclists and pedestrians. Cars have been a major component of American culture, particularly since the 1950s.
Statistics The United States Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration as well as the National Automobile Dealers Association have published data in regard to the total number of vehicles, growth trends, and ratios between licensed drivers, the general population, and the increasing number of vehicles on American roads. Overall passenger vehicles have been outnumbering licensed drivers since 1972 at an ever-increasing rate, while light trucks and vehicles manufactured by foreign makes have gained a larger share of the automotive market in the United States. In 2001, 70% of Americans drove to work in cars.Highlights of the 2001 National Household Travel Survey , Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. Department of Transportation, accessed May 21, 2006 New York City is the only locality in the country where more than half of all households do not own a car (the figure is even higher in Manhattan, over 75%; nationally, the rate is 8%).
Total number of vehicles There are two types of sources for vehicle registration data, known as Vehicles in Operation (VIO): governmental sources such as the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and commercial, for-profit companies such as IHS and Hedges & Company.
The Federal Highway Administration's April 2026 historical summary reports 8,000 registered motor vehicles in 1900 and 297,525,836 in 2024 for the states and District of Columbia.
Annual registered motor vehicles, in vehicles, for the 50 states and District of Columbia, 1900–2024. FHWA counts vehicles registered at any time during each calendar year; totals can include vehicles retired during the year, vehicles registered in more than one state, and some duplicate registrations. Coverage ends with the April 2026 edition of Highway Statistics 2024, Table FI-200; later revisions are excluded.
Raw data
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics for 2012, there were 254,639,386 registered vehicles. Of these, 183,171,882 were classified as "Light duty vehicle, short wheel base", while another 50,588,676 were listed as "Light duty vehicle, long wheel base". Another 8,190,286 were classified as vehicles with two axles and six or more tires and 2,469,094 were classified as "Truck, combination". There were 8,454,939 motorcycles also listed along with 764,509 buses.
According to cumulative data by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) the number of motor vehicles increased steadily from 1960 to 2006, only stagnating once in 1997 and declining from 1990 to 1991. Otherwise the number of motor vehicles during that period rose by an estimated 3.69 million each year since 1960 with the largest annual growth between 1998 and 1999 as well as between 2000 and 2001 when the number of motor vehicles in the United States increased by eight million. Since the study by the FHWA, the number of vehicles has increased by approximately eleven million, one of the largest recorded increases. The largest percentage increase was between the years of 1972 and 1973 when the number of cars increased by 5.88%.
There are three main reasons commercial VIO data differs from data from the US government. The first is due to variation when data is reported by states to the US government. States are required to report registrations using form FHWA-561 once per calendar year or fiscal year. Forty six states end their fiscal year on June 30 and four end in March, August or September. This data is due to the FHWA by January 1 of the following year, creating a lag time of about six months and thereby not accounting for half a year of changes. Second, the government's definitions of vehicle classifications change over time. A footnote added to FHWA datafiles states, "...Data for 2007–10 were calculated using a new methodology developed by FHWA. Data for these years are based on new categories and are not comparable to previous years". Third, the government can include vehicles not in use, or double-count vehicles that have been transferred across two states. According to the FHWA Office of Highway Policy Information, "Although many States continue to register specific vehicle types on a calendar year basis, all States use some form of the "staggered" system to register motor vehicles. Registration practices for commercial vehicles differ greatly among States. The FHWA data include all vehicles which have been registered at any time throughout the calendar year. Data include vehicles which were retired during the year and vehicles that were registered in more than one State. In some States, it is also possible that contrary to the FHWA reporting instructions, vehicles which have been registered twice in the same State may be reported as two vehicles". (All italics added for emphasis.)
Vehicles in Operation (VIO)
In the year 2001, the National Automobile Dealers Association conducted a study revealing the average age of vehicles in operation in the US. The study found that of vehicles in operation in the US, 38.3% were older than ten years, 22.3% were between seven and ten years old, 25.8% were between three and six years old, and 13.5% were less than two years old. According to this study the majority of vehicles, 60.6%, of vehicles were older than seven years in 2001. This relatively high age of automobiles in the US might be explained by unaffordable prices for comparable new replacement vehicles and a corresponding gradual decline in sales figures since 1998. Also, many Americans own three or more vehicles. The low marginal cost of registering and insuring additional older vehicles, many of which are rarely used, could cause the study to be skewed as these vehicles are still given full weight in the statistics.
The median and mean age of automobiles has steadily increased since 1969. In 2007, the overall median age for automobiles was 9.4 years, a significant increase over 1990 when the median age of vehicles in operation in the US was 6.5 years and 1969 when the mean age for automobiles was 5.1 years. Of all body styles, pick-up trucks had the highest mean age in 2001 (9.4 years), followed by cars with a mean age of 8.4 years and van with a mean age of 7.0 years. As SUVs are part of a relatively new consumer trend originating mostly in the 1990s, SUVs had the lowest mean age of any body style in the US (6.1 years). The average recreational vehicle was even older with a mean age of 12.5. For all body styles the mean vehicle age increased fairly steadily from 1969 to 2001.
In March 2009, RL Polk released a study conducted between 2007 and 2008 which indicated that the median age of passenger cars in operation in the US increased to 9.4 years, and that the median age for light trucks increased from 7.1 years in 2007 to 7.5 years in 2008. , the median age for all vehicles in the US had risen to 10.8 years. While the age has increased the number of service/repairs has remained the same at 4.2 times per year. That number took a decline in 2010 to 3.6. This number includes the effect of the 2009 Car Allowance Rebate System program, also known as "Cash for Clunkers", in which approximately 850,000 vehicles were bought and scrapped by the federal government.
Sales
In the year 2009, in the largest decline during economic crisis, fewer than 6 million new passenger cars were sold in the United States, and the total number of new sold and leased cars and light trucks dropped to just above 13 million from a normal pre-crisis level of 20 million. The number of cars sold in the US decreased at a continuous rate since 2000, when 9 million passenger cars were sold in the US. 1985 was a record year with cars sales totaling just over 11 million.
In 2006, the sales of vehicles made in NAFTA states totaled 5.5 million, while the sale of imported vehicles totaled 2.2 million. 923,000 vehicles were imported from Japan, making it the greatest exporter of vehicles to the US. Germany was the second largest exporter of vehicles to the US, with 534,000 units exported to the US in 2006. Imports from all other nations, except Germany and Japan, totaled 729,000.
Pricing
In July 2004, Edmunds.com published a report stating that the average sticker price on a vehicle sold in the United States was $29,746. However, in the US, passenger vehicles are commonly sold at considerable discounts and customers rarely pay the sticker price or MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price). The discount is commonly determined by the company's marketing strategies and tends to be larger the slower selling a vehicle is. Due to what many American consumers have perceived as a declining quality among the automobiles manufactured by the "Big Three" and large fixed labor and capital costs, discounts tend to be larger on domestic vehicles. In 2003 the average discount on a domestic vehicle was 20.6% below MSRP. For Japanese and Korean vehicles the average discount was 10% and 12.8%. The lowest discounts were given on vehicles from European manufacturers, where the average discount was 7.7% below MSRP.
Overall, the average discount in July 2004 was $4,982 (16.8%), meaning that while the average MSRP was almost $30,000, the average buyer of a new car paid only $24,764. Dr. Jane Liu, the Vice President of Data Analysis for Edmunds.com further stated that, "New models are being introduced at higher price points, but the competitiveness of the market is dramatically pushing down net prices, resulting in a record average discount". The lowest discounts among all car segments were given on luxury SUVs, where buyers received an average 10% discount, resulting in a $43,725 net price, versus the sticker price of $48,586.
Fuel economy The American automobile industry became notorious for the manufacture of gas guzzlers during the 1960s and 1970s when fuel prices and consumer awareness concerning fuel economy were at an all-time low. American-made cars took on enormous proportions as consumers placed their emphasis on comfort, power and style. Large sedans from this era came to be known as land yachts, often rivaling today's largest pick-up trucks in terms of length and width. In 1977, the Lincoln Continental Mark V was reviewed by the German automobile magazine auto motor und sport and still holds the record for the worst fuel economy of any vehicle ever tested by the magazine with an average of 7 MPG (33.5L/100 km).