Edmunds has forecasted the 16.9 million new vehicle sales will take place in 2019.

With strong economic indicators such as affordable financing rates and a stable employment rate, it stands to reason that 2019 will finish strong for auto dealers. 

Although sales of new vehicles do look to be about 400,000 less than they were in 2018 that can be explained by a slow Q1 to open up the year.

Electric Vehicles, Plug-in Hybrids, and Traditional Hybrids are on pace for a record year. These Green Cars are on projected to sell over 700,000 units for the second straight year. That number has doubled in the last decade and is expected to double again in the next decade. 

Although Green Cars are on a record pace, they account for a small number of sales.  Currently, Green Cars are responsible for 4% of new vehicles sold in the U.S.

While today’s audience for Green Cars is limited it is a market that is expected to grow rapidly.

States like California and Texas are seeing over 10% of their drivers using Green Cars. To date, California has sold half a million Green Cars. With 37 states now offering incentives and tax or fee exemptions, it is only a matter of time before the market share of Green Cars is above 10%. An increase in charging stations and miles driven between charges will also increase market share.

These Green Car projections should impact the structure of dealership fixed operations, and dealers need to account for this shift to electric vehicles.