Nov. 19, 2014—The National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) forecasts that 16.94 million new cars and light trucks will be purchased or leased in the United States in 2015, the organization announced on Tuesday.
“Rising employment and wages, continued low interest rates and lower gasoline prices all signal an increase in new light-vehicle sales in 2015,” NADA Chief Economist Steven Szakaly said in a release.“The economy will continue to build on the solid growth established in 2014, and we also expect the fundamental conditions to improve in the year ahead,” he added. “Gross domestic product will grow at 3.1 percent in 2015, with the potential for growth to exceed our forecast.”
Szakaly added that new-car sales rising above 17 million units in 2015 would require a ramp up in incentives and an increase in new-car purchases by millennial shoppers above what has occurred over the past two years.
NADA’s original sales forecast of 16.4 million new-cars and light-trucks for 2014 remains on target with an expected finish in sales in November and December. GDP will grow at 2.1 percent in 2014, with inflation remaining well tamed as the year ends, Szakaly said.
