Car buyers are getting older? That was true for a long time. In the end it was no longer valid.
The trend towards older and older new car buyers has stopped. According to a study by the Center Automotive Research (CAR), the average age has leveled off at around 52 and a half over the past five years. In the first nine months of 2020, for example, it was exactly 52,6 years. Before 2015, the age of new car buyers had increased for decades.
In 1995 it was 46,1 years, in 2000 it was 48,1 years and in 2005 the 50 was exceeded for the first time.
According to the study, one of the reasons for the end of the Methuselah effect is the growing proportion of car buyers in the age group 25 to 35 - especially couples with children who live on the outskirts. On the other hand, the number of privately usable company cars available to younger users is increasing.
CAR boss Ferdinand Dudenhöffer anticipates a permanent end to the Methuselah effect. On the one hand, the desire for their own car among younger owners increased after Corona, on the other hand, new subscription models made car ownership increasingly financially risk-free.