Vehicle purchase statistics span more than annual sales. They also describe the vehicles already registered, household access, consumer-unit spending, production mix, fuel economy, emissions, and the growing role of electric powertrains in the United States.
Key Vehicle Purchase Statistics
The following figures summarize the broadest measures in this overview:
- In 2024, the United States had 298 million registered vehicles.
- In 2024, the national rate was 0.88 registered vehicles per person in the United States.
- In 2022, 8% of U.S. households had no vehicle available for regular use.
- In 2022, 38% of U.S. households had two vehicles available.
- In 2022, the median U.S. household had two vehicles available.
- In 2022, the median vehicle in the U.S. vehicle stock was eight years old.
- In 2024, average vehicle-purchase net outlay was $5,337 per U.S. consumer unit.
- In 2024, vehicle purchases represented 6.8% of average consumer-unit spending.
- In 2024, average total transportation spending was $13,318 per U.S. consumer unit.
- In model year 2023, sedan/wagons represented 25% of U.S. light-duty vehicle production.
- In model year 2023, truck SUVs represented 45% of U.S. light-duty vehicle production.
- In model year 2023, car SUVs represented 12% of U.S. light-duty vehicle production.
- In model year 2023, the truck regulatory class represented about 62% of U.S. light-duty vehicle production.
- In model year 2023, average new-vehicle fuel economy reached 27.1 mpg in the United States.
- In model year 2023, average new-vehicle real-world CO2 emissions were 319 grams per mile.
- From model year 2004 to 2023, new-vehicle fuel economy increased 40%, or 7.8 mpg.
- From model year 2004 to 2023, new-vehicle CO2 emissions fell 31%, or 142 grams per mile.
- From model year 2022 to 2023, the combined BEV, PHEV, and fuel-cell production share rose from 6.7% to 11.5%.
- In model year 2023, hybrids represented 12.1% of U.S. new-vehicle production.
Contents
- Vehicle fleet scale and registration data
- Household vehicle access and vehicle age
- Vehicle purchase spending and transportation budgets
- Vehicle type and SUV production statistics
- Fuel economy and emissions trends
- Electrification and SUV efficiency data
Vehicle Fleet Scale and Registration Data
Registered vehicles show the size of the vehicle base that supports transportation demand, but they are not a count of vehicles purchased during the same year. The Federal Highway Administration’s series places the U.S. total at 276 million in 2020, 281 million in 2021, 282 million in 2022, 285 million in 2023, and 298 million in 2024.
| Year | Registered vehicles | Geography and unit |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 276 million | United States, registered vehicles |
| 2021 | 281 million | United States, registered vehicles |
| 2022 | 282 million | United States, registered vehicles |
| 2023 | 285 million | United States, registered vehicles |
| 2024 | 298 million | United States, registered vehicles |
Source: Vehicles | Our Nation’s Highways 2026. These administrative/highway-statistics totals are distinct from household survey measures and do not indicate annual purchase incidence.
The 2024 per-person figures also vary by geography. Montana had 2.18 registered vehicles per person, the highest state rate shown by FHWA, compared with 0.88 registered vehicles per person nationally.
Household Vehicle Access and Vehicle Age
The 2022 National Household Travel Survey measures vehicles available for regular household use, not ownership and not purchase frequency. It found that 8% of U.S. households had no vehicle available, while 33% had one, 38% had two, 13% had three, and 7% had four or more.
| Vehicles available | Share of U.S. households, 2022 |
|---|---|
| None | 8% |
| One | 33% |
| Two | 38% |
| Three | 13% |
| Four or more | 7% |
Source: Vehicles | Our Nation’s Highways 2026. The median number available per household was two.
The same survey describes the age of vehicles in use rather than the model year mix of new sales. Vehicles aged 0 to 4 years represented 26% of the stock, vehicles aged 5 to 9 years represented 30%, and vehicles aged 10 to 14 years represented 18%; the median vehicle age was eight years.
Privately operated vehicles were used for 87% of trips in the FHWA summary, a use measure rather than a purchase measure.
Vehicle Purchase Spending and Transportation Budgets
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports vehicle-purchase net outlay for consumer units. Under BLS definitions, the measure is a nominal annual average and reflects the treatment of trade-ins, so it should not be read as the sticker price of a typical vehicle or a count of transactions.
| Year | Vehicle-purchase net outlay | Share of average spending |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $4,828 | 7.2% |
| 2022 | $4,496 | 6.2% |
| 2023 | $5,539 | 7.2% |
| 2024 | $5,337 | 6.8% |
Source: Consumer expenditures in 2024. Figures are for U.S. consumer units and are not inflation-adjusted in the supplied series.
Average total transportation spending was $10,961 per consumer unit in 2021, $12,295 in 2022, $13,174 in 2023, and $13,318 in 2024. The broader category includes vehicle purchases, fuel, other vehicle expenses, and public or other transportation, so it is not interchangeable with purchase outlay.
In 2024, average other vehicle expenses were $4,206 per consumer unit, average public and other transportation spending was $1,131, and transportation accounted for 17.0% of average consumer-unit spending. These categories provide budget context, not additional estimates of vehicle transaction volume.
Vehicle Type and SUV Production Statistics
EPA production data show a major change in the composition of U.S. light-duty vehicle production. Sedan/wagons accounted for more than 80% of production in model year 1975, but 25% in model year 2023; the production measure is not the same as retail purchase share.
| EPA production category | Model year 2023 share | Definition or caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Sedan/wagons | 25% | U.S. light-duty production |
| Truck SUVs | 45% | EPA regulatory classification |
| Car SUVs | 12% | EPA regulatory classification |
| Pickups | 15% | U.S. light-duty production |
| Minivans and vans | Less than 3% | U.S. light-duty production |
| Truck regulatory class | About 62% | Includes pickups, minivans/vans, and truck SUVs |
Source: 2024 EPA Automotive Trends Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975. Car SUVs and truck SUVs are EPA regulatory categories and are not interchangeable with every consumer or marketing definition of SUV.
Among SUVs weighing 4,000 pounds or less on the EPA inertia-weight basis, 72% met the regulatory truck definition in model year 2023. That result excludes heavier SUVs and uses inertia weight rather than gross vehicle weight rating.
Manufacturer production mixes also differed. Tesla had the highest car-SUV production mix among manufacturers at 55%, while Mazda had the highest truck-SUV production mix at 89%; both are manufacturer production mixes, not brand-wide consumer purchase shares.
Fuel Economy and Emissions Trends in Vehicle Purchases
The EPA’s real-world new-vehicle series reports average fuel economy of 13.1 mpg in model year 1975 and 27.1 mpg in model year 2023. The 2023 average increased by 1.1 mpg in that model year.
Average new-vehicle real-world CO2 emissions fell to 319 grams per mile in model year 2023. Compared with model year 2004, emissions were down 31%, or 142 grams per mile, while fuel economy was up 40%, or 7.8 mpg.
Source: 2024 EPA Automotive Trends Report Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Fuel Economy, and Technology since 1975. These are EPA fleet averages, not ratings for every vehicle or lifecycle-emissions estimates.
The combined production share of battery-electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel-cell vehicles rose from 6.7% in model year 2022 to 11.5% in model year 2023. EPA projected that combined share at 14.8% for model year 2024; this is a preliminary forecast, not a final observed result.
Electrification and SUV Efficiency Data
Hybrid production formed a separate part of the powertrain mix. Hybrids represented 12.1% of new-vehicle production in model year 2023, and EPA projected 14.6% for model year 2024; mild hybrids represented about 40% of hybrid production in 2023.
Within hybrid production, sedan/wagon hybrids represented 25% in model year 2023. That percentage is within the hybrid category and is not the share of all vehicles or all sedan/wagons.
The EPA also reports comparison effects for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. In model year 2023, EVs and PHEVs reduced new-vehicle CO2 emissions by 38 grams per mile and improved new-vehicle fuel economy by 2.2 mpg relative to the comparison fleet; these are fleet comparison effects, not results for every EV or PHEV.
Car SUVs recorded a 7.2-mpg improvement in average new-vehicle fuel economy in model year 2023. Average car-SUV CO2 emissions fell by 60 grams per mile, or 24%, in that model year, with the EPA report attributing part of the fuel-economy improvement to BEV influx.
These SUV figures remain production and regulatory measures rather than direct purchase counts. They are useful for interpreting how vehicle choice, vehicle classification, and powertrain adoption appear together in the U.S. new light-duty vehicle market.