America's 298 Million Vehicles · Most Households Have Two
The United States had 298 million registered motor vehicles in 2024, against a population of 339 million — about 88 vehicles for every 100 residents. An estimated 92% of households have at least one available for personal use, and 58% have two or more. In 2024 consumers spent about $52.65 billion accessorizing and modifying those vehicles. The year before, the same market broke down as $27.41 billion in appearance and accessory products, $12.56 billion in engine and performance, and $12.38 billion in tires, wheels and handling — more than half of it goods rather than engine work.
Why this matters for B2B
For a wholesaler the number to hold onto is not 298 million but 58%. A household with two or more vehicles treats the cargo area as a room it already owns — the one that connects the store, the house, the yard and the campsite — and that is the same household that buys shelving, benches, carts and outdoor pieces. The category split points the same way: the largest slice of the market is appearance and accessory products, which is boxed goods on a shelf, not labour in a bay. And the vehicles doing the buying are the big ones — in 2023 pickups were 32% of accessory sales, crossovers 15% and SUVs 12%, over half the market between them. One caution, and it is the whole reason this page exists: SEMA publishes no figure for cargo or storage accessories, so the $52.65 billion is the entire specialty-equipment market and must not be read as the size of that niche. Read alongside new vehicle registrations per capita, why the American car became a luxury good, our garage and workshop range and the U.S. market hub.
Sources: Federal Highway Administration, Our Nation's Highways 2026 — Table 4-1 (registered motor vehicles, 1900-2024; 298 million in 2024, 297,525,836 in Highway Statistics Table MV-1) and Table 4-3 (number of vehicles available to households, 2022, from the National Household Travel Survey; the five rows are rounded and add to 99%). The 92% household figure and the population of 339 million are the publication's own statements and carry no year. Specialty Equipment Market Association press releases of 30 June 2025 ($52.65 billion of consumer spending in 2024) and 27 June 2024 (market sales of $52.3 billion in 2023, with the category and vehicle-type splits). The two SEMA figures use different wording — consumer spending against market sales — and are not presented here as a trend. Chart built by Cube-Age from the published figures; no original infographic was reproduced.