U.S.: car sales per year 1951-2022

The U.S. auto industry sold nearly 2.86 million cars in 2022. That year, total car and light truck sales were approximately 13.75 million in the United States. U.S. vehicle sales peaked in 2016 at roughly 17.5 million units.

Pandemic impact

The COVID-19 pandemic deeply impacted the U.S. automotive market, accelerating the global automotive semiconductor shortage and leading to a drop in demand during the first months of 2020. However, as demand rebounded, new vehicle supply could not keep up with the market. U.S. inventory-to-sales ratio dropped to its lowest point in February 2022, as Russia’s war on Ukraine lead to gasoline price hikes. During that same period, inflation also impacted new and used car prices, pricing many U.S. consumers out of a market with increasingly lower car stocks.

Focus on fuel economy

The U.S. auto industry had one of its worst years in 1982 when customers were beginning to feel the effects of the 1973 oil crisis and the energy crisis of 1979. Since light trucks would often be considered less fuel-efficient, cars accounted for about 77 percent of light vehicle sales back then. Thanks to improved fuel economy for light trucks and cheaper gas prices, this picture had completely changed in 2020. That year, prices for Brent oil dropped to just over 40 U.S. dollars per barrel. The decline occurred in tandem with lower gasoline prices, which came to about 2.17 U.S. dollars per gallon in 2020 – and cars only accounted for less than one-fourth of light vehicle sales that year. 2021 and 2022 had less favorable conditions for auto sales, with Brent oil prices rising and monthly retail gasoline prices peaking in June 2022.