The year 2015 witnessed a record number of automobiles being purchased by American consumers, with as many as 17,470,659 vehicles being sold during the year. This is the highest such number ever recorded in the U.S. in a year, surpassing the 17,402,486 vehicles that were sold in 2000.
The industry as a whole grew by six percent for the year. The performance of most companies showed a marked improvement over the sales numbers for 2014. Among American manufacturers, General Motors and Ford sales grew by five and 5.3 percent, respectively, while those of Fiat Chrysler grew by 7.3 percent. Nissan, Toyota and Honda sales grew by 7.1, 5.3 and three percent, respectively. The one major automaker that suffered the steepest decline in sales was Germany's Volkswagen, which saw a decline of 4.8 percent, which is attributed to the emission cheating scandal surrounding its diesel vehicles, according to Motor Trend.
A number of factors are cited for the record-breaking performance of the American automotive industry. Interest rates have remained low, thus leaving more money in the hands of ordinary Americans to be able to buy vehicles of their choice. The unemployment rate has also stayed low, allowing more of the working people to be able to afford cars. Perhaps most importantly, gasoline prices have stayed low for some time now, which helped consumers avoid worrying too much about the hefty gas bills that they might otherwise have incurred on long journeys, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The lower gas prices have also had a negative impact on the sale of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles. For instance, the sales of cars such as the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius dropped significantly during the year. Customers also seemed to prefer smaller SUVs such as the Honda CR-V or the Nissan Rogue since gasoline prices did not seem to be an issue during the year, The Christian Science Monitor reported.
Analysts expect the growth to continue in 2016, even though the overall growth rate may not be as high as the six percent that was seen in 2015.
