The booming automotive retailing industry encompasses anything related to the sale and distribution of vehicles to consumers and businesses – from browsing available cars online to signing a contract in the office or buying a new part for your car.
And maybe you know where Reynolds comes in … or maybe this is your first time checking us out. Either way, to sum up what we do, we develop and support software, business forms, and promotional items for these businesses – mainly car dealerships – around the world.
At the end of 2023, the National Automobile Dealers Association, or NADA, published its NADA Data report, which covered the major milestones achieved by the automotive retailing industry throughout the year. We pulled some of the key statistics that stuck out to us and created a neat list for you to browse below.
A quick note: The Environmental Protection Agency defines a light-duty vehicle as “any vehicle with a total weight equal to or less than 4.25 tons.” So, the numbers below won’t include any vehicles bigger than a standard minivan or pickup truck. For our purposes, we’ll refer to them as “cars”. Let’s dive in!
In 2023:
  • The nation’s 16,835 franchised dealers sold a combined 5 million new cars.
  • Total car sales topped $1.2 trillion.
  • The average new car dealership brought in $71.7 million in total sales.
  • 90% of American households own at least one car, and 55% of these cars were purchased at a dealership.
Graphic showing number of households who owned a vehicle in 2023
  • The average dealership sold 918 new cars with an average retail selling price of $47,014 per car.
  • Of all used cars sold by dealerships, 6% of them were acquired by customers trading them in for new vehicles on their lot.
  • In total, dealerships spent $8.9 billion on advertising.
  • Dealerships wrote more than 264 million repair orders, with service and parts sales exceeding $142 billion in revenue.
  • Dealerships employed 1,100,650 individuals, averaging 63 employees each.
Graphic showing number of employees in a dealership in 2023.
The automotive retailing industry continues to play a vital role in the global economy with remarkable achievements in 2023, and the second half of 2024 shows no signs of slowing down. As we look ahead, Reynolds remains committed to driving innovation and excellence in the automotive retailing landscape, ensuring that we equip our partners to succeed in this evolving market.
Ready to join the growing automotive industry? Get started by checking out available positions with Reynolds here.