Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Car Culture

Report: The American Auto Fleet Is Shrinking

Could the nation be turning away from its decades-old yen for auto ownership? Americans got rid of more cars than they purchased in 2009, reversing a trend that saw total U.S. vehicles exceed the number of drivers more than 35 years ago, according to a report released today by the Earth Policy Institute (EPI).

update87_driversandcars.JPG(Chart: EPI)

Using data from the Federal Highway Administration and the consulting firm Polk & Co., EPI projected that the U.S. auto fleet fell to 246 million last year, a drop of nearly 2 percent.

EPI president Lester Brown, the report's author, attributed the decline to several factors, including urban transit expansion and market saturation. Brown wrote:

The car promised mobility, and in alargely rural United States it delivered. But with four out of fiveAmericans now living in cities, the growth in urban car numbers at somepoint provides just the opposite: immobility.

With 209 million U.S. drivers on the road, the nation still owns an average of more than 1 vehicle per eligible user. If the 2009 trend continues, according to today's report, the total number of American cars could fall to 225 million by 2020, similar to levels seen about 10 years ago.

EPI's prediction that the nation is entering a new period of declining car purchases tracks with data pointing to American auto sales in the 11.5 million range for 2010 -- a high number, to be sure, but distinctly lower than the 17 million-plus in sales notched during the SUV's heyday in the early 2000s.

How much of a role did the Obama administration's "cash for clunkers" program play in the high rates of auto scrappage last year? The taxpayer-funded rebates persuaded car owners to get rid of 700,000 vehicles, less than one-quarter of the 4 million relinquished vehicles estimated by EPI.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Anti-Miracle On 34th Street: Adams Administration Pauses Work On 34th Street Busway

The highly-anticipated 34th Street busway may not happen under Mayor Adams after all, sources said.

July 3, 2025

Manhattan DA Says Alleged Central Park Hit-and-Run Cyclist Didn’t Flee, Drops Charges

Prosecutors said the 30-year-old cyclist "remained on the scene for about 45 minutes after the crash and waited for paramedics to arrive to treat the injured person."

Sean Duffy’s ‘Great America Road Trip’ Wants You to Drive to Central Park

Sean Duffy's "Great American Road Trip" encourages Americans to drive to sites in the most transit-rich and car-choked parts of the country.

July 3, 2025

Ex-DOT Official Warns NYC’s ‘Counterproductive’ E-bike Speed Limit Will Curb Biking, Safety

The mayor is working overtime to undo the decade of gains for cycling in the Big Apple, a former de Blasio administration official told Streetsblog.

July 3, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: Just the News Edition

Things are slowing down for summer, but not entirely. Here's the news.

July 3, 2025

DOT Boss Defends Adams’s ‘Vision Zero’ Record As Agency Fights A Bike Lane in Court

Traffic fatalities are down and the DOT is taking a victory lap — even as it argues against a protected bike lane in court.

July 2, 2025
See all posts