New Record: 17.47 Million Vehicles Sold In 2015

We told you about once a month in 2015 how auto sales were going and the answer was usually an affirmation of very strong numbers. However the question is – now that 2015 is said and done – just how good are the sales numbers?

2015 was a record breaking year for retail automotive. Just below 17.5 million vehicles were sold by dealers in 2015, eclipsing the 17.4 million record set back in 2000. Certainly 2015 was better than even the most ambitious predictions hoped for. Speaking about the record-setting year, Mustafa Mohatarem, Chief Economist at GM said in a statement, “The U.S. economy continues to expand and the most important factors that drive demand for new vehicles are in place, so we expect to see a second consecutive year or record industry sales in 2016.”

December year over year U.S. sales numbers for major automakers were:

GM +5.7%

FCA US +12.6%

Ford +8.3%

Nissan +8.7%

Honda +9.9%

Toyota +10.3%

Volkswagen -3.4%

Tesla Motors +26.7%

Hyundai +7.0%

As for what direction the industry is headed, signs are pointing towards a potentially even better year for retail automotive. Michelle Krebs, Analyst for Autotrader.com said in a statement, “There’s no end in sight to those trends. You’re going to hear the same broken record next year.”

Along the same lines, Jessica Caldwell, Director of Industry Analysis for Edmunds.com said in an emailed statement, “It’s truly remarkable that the auto industry is finishing off its best year ever just six years after the depths of the Great Recession. Automakers are doing a great job giving the people what they want in a new car.”

How did your store do in 2015? Was it a record-setting year? Can you see your dealership doing even better in 2016?