Sales of new cars and light trucks will continue their post-recession recovery, reaching a record high of 17.46 million vehicles in 2016, said Steven Szakaly, chief economist of the National Automobile Dealers Association.
This forecast for new- and used-vehicle sales through 2019 was made at the Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing Seminars in Traverse City, Michigan today. Szakaly predicts new-vehicle sales of 16.65 million units in 2017.
“Employment is doing very well, which is critical to new- and used-car sales, and we expect gasoline prices to continue to remain low,” Szakaly said.
NADA forecasts that new-car dealerships will retail 31.77 million new and used vehicles in 2015, an increase of 3.3% from 2014. This includes 17.17 million new vehicles and 14.6 million used vehicles.
