US Car Fleet Drops by 4M in 2009

As we reported throughout the year, 2009 was not auspicious for car sales. In the Unites States, however, not only there were fewer buyers, but the entire car fleet lost 14 million units last year. The Earth Policy Institute (EPI) recently announced there will be a teleconference with reporters tomorrow during which it will report that "America’s century-old love affair with the automobile may be coming to an end."

In 2009, the 14 million cars scrapped exceeded the 10 million new cars sold, shrinking the U.S. fleet by 4 million, namely nearly two percent in just one year. The US fleet, totaling 250 million in 2008, dropped to 246 million in 2009.

Brown thinks this shrinkage will continue through 2020 and sees several reasons for this decline. "One is market saturation. The United States now has 246 million registered motor vehicles and 209 million licensed drivers-nearly 5 vehicles for every 4 drivers,” EPI president Lester Brown said.

“Other reasons for the U.S. car fleet shrinkage are ongoing urbanization, economic uncertainty, oil insecurity, the prospect of higher gasoline prices, the rising costs of traffic congestion, mounting concerns about climate change, and the declining interest in cars among young people who have grown up in cities," he added.

Of course, the direct consequence of this shrinkage in the national fleet combined with gains in fuel efficiency will lead to the decrease in US oil consumption and carbon emissions levels. Furthermore, it will also “largely eliminate the need for building new streets and highways, and will set the stage for increased investment in public transit and high-speed intercity rail,” EPI said in a release.