More Cars Scrapped Than Purchased Last Year

01/11/2010

The nation's vehicle fleet recorded a somewhat surprising statistic last year that in time could affect the amounts people pay for auto insurance.

According to an announcement from the Earth Policy Institute, for the first time on record, more automobiles were disposed of than purchased last year. A total of 14 million cars were scrapped nationwide, while only 10 million new ones were sold, which was said to shrink the number of vehicles in the U.S. by about 2 percent.

The organization said that factors contributing to this decline include an over-saturated market, ongoing urbanization, higher fuel prices and the economy in general.

The number of cars in America is still formidable, with 246 million registered vehicles nationwide and only 209 million licensed drivers, which is said to amount to about five vehicles for every four drivers.

If this trend was to continue, in theory it would benefit ratepayers everywhere because areas with fewer drivers tend to enjoy lower auto insurance prices because of the reduced number of accidents and other related claims.

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