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ORIGINAL: janh

Some people argue that the tank models used in 41 are obsolete by 42, so you ought to push hard since the 42 refit will render them outdated anyway. I wouldn't go that far, in part because the production rate of light tanks is quite poor. These are the ones in my experience to suffer not only highest combat losses, but seemingly also most non-repairable operational breakdowns. In my last game I ended up starting my spring offensive in March, but my tank formations suffered from a severe shortage of PzII and Pz38. In theory I would have had sufficient PzIII left in the pools to make up for that, though. That lack certainly cost me a few CV points.

My recipe for Armor and Mech formations is to keep them moving, and only rather rarely involve them in combat directly (easy preys for morale building, or if needed to clear the way where no infantry can do the job). Sometimes I also use (single) Panzerdivisions also as heavy support in cracking fort lines, such as at Leningrad or Sevastopol.
Otherwise, their primary job is to isolate the battlefield, and make the job for the infantry easier. Heavy toll in tanks by December already accumulates from the large movement distances traveled all summer. If you add in some heavy fighting, you may end up with severely depleted ToE as you mention. That is quite related to what happened historically, even though I usually can preserve my tank numbers a lot longer than our contemporary counterparts.