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.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, there were around 292.3 million vehicles operating on roads throughout the United States. Almost 39.2 million used vehicles changed owners in the U.S. between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2024, while new registrations of vehicles came to about 15.8 million units during that period. Automotive market disparities The number of licensed drivers had been steadily increasing up to just under 237,700 in 2023, but the automotive market has been impacted by economic developments over the past few years. The U.S. vehicle fleet is aging, reflected by the slow increase in the average vehicle age from 11.7 years in 2018 to over 12 years in 2024. This is in part due to market disparities. The average selling price of new vehicles has been increasing to nearly 47,700 U.S. dollars in 2024, up from under 35,000 in 2016. Used car prices have been declining after the chip shortages linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching around 28,400 U.S. dollars in 2024. The majority of U.S. car owners earned more than 40,000 U.S. dollars per years, with the 50,000 to 75,000 income group owning over 33 percent of the vehicles in use. The boom of the used vehicle market Close to three-quarter of new car buyers were born between 1946 and 1981, with Gen X being the leading consumers by age group for both the new and used vehicle market. Used light vehicle sales have been steadily increasing since 2010, representing well over double the size of the new light vehicle market in 2024. With a product range priced below new vehicle prices, used vehicles are gaining momentum in the United States. The average American household spends some 5,500 U.S. dollars on vehicle purchases annually, with consumers in income groups earning above 100,000 U.S. dollars per year spending above 7,200 dollars annually on car buying. Used vehicle financing options are naturally more affordable than new vehicle financing options, with an average monthly payment over 726 dollars for loan payments for new vehicles.

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.

There were nearly 103 million automobiles registered in the United States in 2021. That year, a total of around 282.4 million motor vehicles were registered in the U.S.

The graph illustrates the average number of cars per household in the United States from 1969 to 2022. The x-axis represents the years, labeled from '69 to '22, while the y-axis displays the average number of cars per household. Over this period, the average increased from 1.16 cars per household in 1969 to a peak of 1.89 in 2001. The lowest recorded average was 1.16 in 1969, and the highest was 1.89 in 2001. After 2001, the average slightly decreased to 1.83 in 2022. The data indicates an overall upward trend in the average number of cars per household over the decades, with a slight decline in recent years.

Forecast: Share of Passenger Cars in Total Road Motor Vehicles in the US 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

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.

Total vehicle registration counts per month by county

Graph and download economic data for Expenditures: Vehicle Purchases: Cars and Trucks, New by Region: Residence in the Northeast Census Region (CXUNEWCARSLB1102M) from 1984 to 2023 about Northeast Census Region, purchase, trucks, vehicles, expenditures, residents, new, and USA.

Forecast: Number of Passenger Cars in the US 2023 - 2027 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

The Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) is conducted in partnership with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Federal Highway Administration, and the U.S. Department of Energy to better understand the characteristics and use of trucks on our nation's roads. The survey universe for the VIUS includes all private and commercial trucks registered (or licensed) in the United States. This includes: pickups; minivans, other light vans, and sport utility vehicles; other light single-unit trucks (GVW = 26,000 lbs.); and truck tractors. The VIUS sample excludes vehicles owned by federal, state, and local governments; ambulances; buses; motor homes; farm tractors; unpowered trailer units; and trucks reported to have been disposed of prior to January 1 of the survey year. VIUS provides data on the physical and operational characteristics of the nation's truck population. Its primary goal is to produce estimates of the total number of trucks and truck miles. This dataset provides national and state-level summary statistics for in-scope vehicles, excluding pickups, SUVs, minivans, and other light vans, that were in use.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: New Vehicles in U.S. City Average (CUSR0000SETA01) from Jan 1953 to Mar 2025 about vehicles, urban, new, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Expenditures: Vehicle Purchases: Cars and Trucks, Used by Region: Residence in the Midwest Census Region (CXUUSEDCARSLB1103M) from 1984 to 2023 about Midwest Census Region, used, purchase, trucks, vehicles, expenditures, residents, and USA.

Number of Businesses statistics on the Used Car Dealers industry in United States

Forecast: Share of Motorcycles in Total Road Motor Vehicles in the US 2022 - 2026 Discover more data with ReportLinker!

In 2023, almost 10.6 million motor vehicles were produced in the United States. Globally, there were around 93.5 million motor vehicles produced in the same year. Compared with the previous year, global motor vehicle production increased by about ten percent in 2022.

Graph and download economic data for Expenditures: Vehicle Purchases: Cars and Trucks, Used by Highest Education: College Graduate: Total (CXUUSEDCARSLB1407M) from 2012 to 2023 about used, purchase, trucks, tertiary schooling, vehicles, expenditures, education, and USA.

Statistics illustrates consumption, production, prices, and trade of Bodies for Motor Vehicles for The Transporting People in Northern America from 2007 to 2024.