Auto Retail Industry Is a $34.2 Billion a Year Business in New Jersey

On Jun 7, 2017

New Jersey’s retail automotive industry continues to be the strongest and most productive part of the New Jersey retail economy. The State’s network of 510 auto retailers generate tens of thousands of jobs, and billions of dollars in employment earnings, State and local taxes, according to a report released today entitled The Economic Impact of Franchised New Vehicle Retailers on the New Jersey Economy.

The report was commissioned by the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers (NJ CAR) and compiled by Auto Outlook, Inc., an independent automotive market analysis firm. The report offers hard data on employment, payroll, tax collections and automotive sales in New Jersey.

2016 was the second year in a row that the retail automotive industry set a record for new vehicle sales, driven by increased consumer confidence, the low cost of credit and continued pent-up demand for new cars and trucks.

“New Jersey’s franchised auto retailers faithfully serve thousands of consumers in cities and towns throughout New Jersey every single day, offering competition and convenient access to warranty and safety recall service,” said Jim Appleton, President of NJ CAR. “They will continue playing a crucial role in meeting consumers’ needs and will embrace the opportunities presented by new mobility trends and technology advancements that will lead to an evolution in the car-buying process.”

Some of the primary findings in the 2017 report include:

• Franchised new car dealerships generated nearly 67,000 jobs in 2016, up from 65,000 jobs in 2015.
• New Jersey residents earned nearly $3.6 billion, as a result of their employment at automotive dealerships in 2016, up from $3.4 billion in 2015.
• The average dealership payroll was $5.19 million in 2016, up from $4.975 million in 2015.
• Dealerships collected or paid more than $1.68 billion in State and local taxes in 2016, up from $1.65 billion in 2015.
• Automobile dealerships spent $412 million on advertising during 2016.
• Franchised new vehicle dealerships in New Jersey had total sales of more than $34.27 billion in 2016, up from $33.4 billion in 2015.
• Average dealership sales were $67.2 million in 2016, up from $65.5 million in 2015.
• Collectively, automobile dealerships contributed nearly $14.7 million to hundreds of charitable causes in 2015.

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