The automotive industry ended 2015 with a bang, breaking the record with nearly 17.5 million sales of cars and light trucks. This tops the previous record of 17.35 million cars in 2000. In all, American consumers spent $570 billion on new cars. This is a significant comeback from the low of 10.4 million cars consumers purchased in 2009.

Trucks, SUVs, and crossover vehicles had the strongest overall sales in 2015, with an increase in 13% over 2014. The Ford F-150 remained the top selling vehicle in the US. The industry also saw a significant increase in leasing, totaling 29% of new retail sales. Merely 10 years ago, leases accounted for only 16.6% of new retail sales.

As we previously noted on the blog, low fuel prices and easier access to credit, among other factors, drove sales over the past year. Gas prices should remain low in the near term, and although interest rates are slowly increasing, analysts expect a continued upward trend with 2016 predicted to be another record year in the auto industry.