Over the course of the 20th century, the number of operational motor vehicles in the United States grew significantly, from just 8,000 automobiles in the year 1900 to more than 183 million private and commercial vehicles in the late 1980s. Generally, the number of vehicles increased in each year, with the most notable exceptions during the Great Depression and Second World War.

The U.S. auto industry sold nearly three million cars in 2024. That year, total car and light truck sales were approximately 15.9 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. Four years on, prices are dropping again, after being the highest on record since 1990 in 2022.

Key information about US Number of Registered Vehicles

• US Number of Registered Vehicles was reported at 283,400,986 Unit in Dec 2022.
• This records an increase from the previous number of 282,354,993 Unit for Dec 2021.
• US Number of Registered Vehicles data is updated yearly, averaging 93,949,852 Unit from Dec 1910 to 2022, with 113 observations.
• The data reached an all-time high of 283,400,986 Unit in 2022 and a record low of 468,500 Unit in 1910.
• US Number of Registered Vehicles data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by CEIC Data.
• The data is categorized under World Trend Plus’s Global Economic Monitor – Table: No of Registered Vehicles: Annual.

Federal Highway Administration provides No of Registered Vehicles. No of Registered Vehicles includes No of Registered Motorcycles. No of Registered Vehicles prior to 2011 excludes No of Registered Motorcycles.

Key information about United States Motor Vehicle Production

• United States Motor Vehicle Production was reported at 10,611,555.000 Unit in Dec 2023.
• This records an increase from the previous number of 10,052,958.000 Unit for Dec 2022.
• US Motor Vehicle Production data is updated yearly, averaging 11,292,123.000 Unit from Dec 1997 to 2023, with 27 observations.
• The data reached an all-time high of 13,024,978.000 Unit in 1999 and a record low of 5,731,397.000 Unit in 2009.
• US Motor Vehicle Production data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.
• The data is categorized under World Trend Plus’s Association: Automobile Sector – Table RA.OICA.MVP: Motor Vehicle Production: by Country.

Key information about United States Motor Vehicle Sales: Passenger Cars

• United States Motor Vehicle Sales: Passenger Cars was reported at 3,116,647.000 Unit in Dec 2023.
• This records an increase from the previous number of 2,858,575.000 Unit for Dec 2022.
• US Motor Vehicle Sales: Passenger Cars data is updated yearly, averaging 6,089,403.000 Unit from Dec 2005 to 2023, with 19 observations.
• The data reached an all-time high of 7,761,592.000 Unit in 2006 and a record low of 2,858,575.000 Unit in 2022.
• US Motor Vehicle Sales: Passenger Cars data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.
• The data is categorized under World Trend Plus’s Association: Automobile Sector – Table RA.OICA.MVS: Motor Vehicle Sales: by Country and Type: Passenger Car (PC).

Autos include all passenger cars, including station wagons. The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis releases auto and truck sales data, which are used in the preparation of estimates of personal consumption expenditures.

In 2024, the auto industry in the United States sold approximately 15.9 million light vehicle units. This figure includes retail sales of about three million passenger cars and just under 12.9 million light trucks. Lower fuel consumption There are many kinds of light vehicles available in the United States. Light-duty vehicles are popular for their utility and improved fuel economy, making them an ideal choice for savvy consumers. As of Model Year 2023, the light vehicle manufacturer with the best overall miles per gallon was Kia, with one gallon of gas allowing for 30.4 miles on the road. Higher brand satisfaction When asked about light vehicle satisfaction, consumers in the United States were most satisfied with Toyota, Subaru, Tesla, and Mercedes-Benz models. Another survey conducted in 2018 and quizzing respondents on their stance regarding the leading car brands indicated that Lexus was among the most dependable brands based on the number of problems reported per 100 vehicles.

Car Production in the United States increased to 10.35 Million Units in February from 9.28 Million Units in January of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Car Production- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Car Registrations in the United States increased to 219.90 Thousand in February from 192.40 Thousand in January of 2025. This dataset provides - United States Car Registrations - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

This dataset shows the Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) that are currently registered through Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL).

Key information about United States Motor Vehicle Sales: Commercial Cars

• United States Motor Vehicle Sales: Commercial Cars was reported at 12,892,621.000 Unit in Dec 2023.
• This records an increase from the previous number of 11,371,749.000 Unit for Dec 2022.
• US Motor Vehicle Sales: Commercial Cars data is updated yearly, averaging 9,784,346.000 Unit from Dec 2005 to 2023, with 19 observations.
• The data reached an all-time high of 12,892,621.000 Unit in 2023 and a record low of 5,200,478.000 Unit in 2009.
• US Motor Vehicle Sales: Commercial Cars data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers.
• The data is categorized under World Trend Plus’s Association: Automobile Sector – Table RA.OICA.MVS: Motor Vehicle Sales: by Country and Type: Commercial Vehicle (CV).

Total vehicle registration counts per month by county

Some 283.4 million vehicles were registered in the United States in 2022. The figures include passenger cars, motorcycles, trucks, buses, and other vehicles. The number of light trucks sold in the U.S. stood at 10.9 million units in 2022. U.S. vehicle registrations The United States is one of the world’s largest automobile markets based on the number of new light vehicle registrations, with more than 13.8 million new light vehicle registrations in 2021. However, domestic production of automobiles fell to around 1.6 million units in 2021 and has struggled to increase in 2022. At the same time, the United States imports a significant number of vehicles from various countries, such as Japan, Mexico, and Canada. Leading car manufacturers in the United States The leading car manufacturers overall in the United States include the domestic heavyweights General Motors and Ford. With respect to car brands, the Ford brand clocked in at number one in 2022, selling around 1.8 million vehicles in the United States alone. The brand's holding company is the Ford Motor Company; it was founded by Henry Ford in 1903 in Dearborn, Michigan. The company pioneered in large-scale car manufacturing and introduced production methods such as the assembly line.

In 2023, California had the most automobile registrations: almost 13.2 million such vehicles were registered in the most populous U.S. federal state. California also had the highest number of registered motor vehicles overall: nearly 30.4 million registrations.

Graph and download economic data for Sales: Retail Trade: Car Registration: Passenger Cars for United States (USASACRQISMEI) from Q1 1960 to Q3 2021 about car registrations and USA.

Auto Exports in the United States decreased to 64.40 Thousand in December from 68.70 Thousand in November of 2024. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for the United States Auto Exports.

Sales of used light vehicles in the United States came to around 38.9 million units in the third quarter of 2024. The same period, approximately 15.6 million new light trucks and automobiles were sold here. Declining availability of vehicles In the fourth quarter of 2023, about 288.5 million vehicles were in operation in the United States, an increase of under one percent year-over-year. The rising demand for vehicles paired with an overall price inflation lead to a rise in new vehicle prices. In contrast, used vehicle prices slightly decreased. E-commerce: a solution for the bumpy road ahead? Financial reports have revealed how the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic has triggered a shift in vehicle-buying behavior. With many consumer goods and services now bought online due to COVID-19, the automobile industry has also started to digitally integrate its services online to reach consumers with a preference for contactless test driving amid the global crisis. Several dealers and automobile companies had already begun to tap into online car sales before the pandemic, some of them being Carvana and Tesla.

This layer shows household size by number of vehicles available. This is shown by tract, county, and state centroids. This service is updated annually to contain the most currently released American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year data, and contains estimates and margins of error. There are also additional calculated attributes related to this topic, which can be mapped or used within analysis. This layer is symbolized to show the count and percentage of households with no vehicle available. To see the full list of attributes available in this service, go to the "Data" tab, and choose "Fields" at the top right. Current Vintage: 2019-2023ACS Table(s): B08201 Data downloaded from: Census Bureau's API for American Community Survey Date of API call: December 12, 2024National Figures: data.census.govThe United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS):About the SurveyGeography & ACSTechnical DocumentationNews & UpdatesThis ready-to-use layer can be used within ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, its configurable apps, dashboards, Story Maps, custom apps, and mobile apps. Data can also be exported for offline workflows. For more information about ACS layers, visit the FAQ. Please cite the Census and ACS when using this data.Data Note from the Census:Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. The degree of uncertainty for an estimate arising from sampling variability is represented through the use of a margin of error. The value shown here is the 90 percent margin of error. The margin of error can be interpreted as providing a 90 percent probability that the interval defined by the estimate minus the margin of error and the estimate plus the margin of error (the lower and upper confidence bounds) contains the true value. In addition to sampling variability, the ACS estimates are subject to nonsampling error (for a discussion of nonsampling variability, see Accuracy of the Data). The effect of nonsampling error is not represented in these tables.Data Processing Notes:This layer is updated automatically when the most current vintage of ACS data is released each year, usually in December. The layer always contains the latest available ACS 5-year estimates. It is updated annually within days of the Census Bureau's release schedule. Click here to learn more about ACS data releases.Boundaries come from the US Census TIGER geodatabases, specifically, the National Sub-State Geography Database (named tlgdb_(year)_a_us_substategeo.gdb). Boundaries are updated at the same time as the data updates (annually), and the boundary vintage appropriately matches the data vintage as specified by the Census. These are Census boundaries with water and/or coastlines erased for cartographic and mapping purposes. For census tracts, the water cutouts are derived from a subset of the 2020 Areal Hydrography boundaries offered by TIGER. Water bodies and rivers which are 50 million square meters or larger (mid to large sized water bodies) are erased from the tract level boundaries, as well as additional important features. For state and county boundaries, the water and coastlines are derived from the coastlines of the 2023 500k TIGER Cartographic Boundary Shapefiles. These are erased to more accurately portray the coastlines and Great Lakes. The original AWATER and ALAND fields are still available as attributes within the data table (units are square meters).The States layer contains 52 records - all US states, Washington D.C., and Puerto RicoCensus tracts with no population that occur in areas of water, such as oceans, are removed from this data service (Census Tracts beginning with 99).Percentages and derived counts, and associated margins of error, are calculated values (that can be identified by the "_calc_" stub in the field name), and abide by the specifications defined by the American Community Survey.Field alias names were created based on the Table Shells file available from the American Community Survey Summary File Documentation page.Negative values (e.g., -4444...) have been set to null, with the exception of -5555... which has been set to zero. These negative values exist in the raw API data to indicate the following situations:The margin of error column indicates that either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute a standard error and thus the margin of error. A statistical test is not appropriate.Either no sample observations or too few sample observations were available to compute an estimate, or a ratio of medians cannot be calculated because one or both of the median estimates falls in the lowest interval or upper interval of an open-ended distribution.The median falls in the lowest interval of an open-ended distribution, or in the upper interval of an open-ended distribution. A statistical test is not appropriate.The estimate is controlled. A statistical test for sampling variability is not appropriate.The data for this geographic area cannot be displayed because the number of sample cases is too small.

This shows records of title activity (transactions recording changes of ownership), and registration activity (transactions authorizing vehicles to be used on Washington public roads).

Graph and download economic data for Imports of goods: Automotive vehicles, engines, and parts (B651RC1Q027SBEA) from Q1 1967 to Q4 2024 about engines, parts, imports, vehicles, goods, GDP, and USA.