USA New Car Dealers Set Sales Record in 2013

Washington DC February 18, 2014; The AIADA newsletter reported that the nation’s nearly 18,000 new car dealerships set a record for most sales per average dealership in 2013, climbing 7.6 percent — even as the dealer network shrank by 0.1 percent according to a story in the Detroit News.

Urban Science said Monday there were 17,838 dealerships as of Jan. 1, a 0.1 percent decrease from 17,851 a year earlier. The dealer network — after falling by several thousand dealers in 2009 and 2010 — has been stable for the last four years. Based on 2013 vehicle sales of 15.6 million, Urban Science’s analysis shows throughput increased to an average of 874 sales per dealership, up 62 sales per dealership from last year’s average of 812 and significantly higher than the recent low of 564 sales per dealership in 2009.

Urban Science estimates that if 2014 vehicle sales reach 16.15 million, as some analysts project — average sales per dealer will shatter the current all-time high and increase to an astounding 914. However, Urban Science predicts these peaks will ultimately settle into “normal” throughput levels of around 850. As of Jan. 1, 2014, there were a total of 31,440 franchises, a 0.5 percent decrease from 31,608 the year before.