How many exclusive used car dealerships are there in the US (meaning they only sell used vehicles)?

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How many exclusive used car dealerships are there in the US (meaning they only sell used vehicles)?

Several reports exist that deal with the US used car market, but very few offer hard figures for number of dealerships. According to IBISWorld, there are just over 139,000 dealerships in the US that deal exclusively with used cars and light vehicles as of November 2017. Read on for my full rundown of these statistics!

FINDINGS

The only comprehensive report I could find that covered the whole US used car market (not solely focused on franchised dealerships or on member dealers of a particular organization) is this one from IBISWorld. They report 139,278 businesses in the used car industry, including dealerships selling "used passenger vehicles, including passenger cars, light trucks, sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and passenger vans."

Several other reports exist that cover the US used car market. Manheim, a large auto market auction provider, reports increasing used car sales figures year over year every year since 2010, with a total of just over 15 million used cars sold in 2016 by franchised dealers alone. The National Independent Auto Dealers Association's 2017 membership survey results showed high dealer confidence in the economy. The NIADA report puts the total number of used cars sold in 2016 at 38.5 million.

CONCLUSION

A November 2017 IBISWorld study says that the US is home to 139,278 used car dealerships. Market reports from Manheim and the NIADA suggest a strong market for used cars into the future, with strong dealer confidence and growing sales.

Did this report spark your curiosity?

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