New-Car Dealerships Are Engine for Economy, Study Says

ANN ARBOR, Michigan – New-car dealerships help to power the U.S. economy, providing and supporting more than 2.2 million private-sector jobs in the U.S. totaling $144 billion in employee compensation in 2014, according to a new study by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR).

“From the employment opportunities created to taxes paid and generated that support local governments, people do not realize how much new-car dealerships bring to their communities throughout the country,” said Debbie Menk, CAR assistant director of economic development strategies, in a statement.

CAR is an Ann Arbor-based research organization.

The report found that for every worker employed at new-car dealerships, there are another 1.2 spin-off jobs in the U.S. economy.

All jobs associated with new-car dealerships accounted for 1.5 percent of private-sector employment in the entire U.S. economy.

Corporate income taxes and license fees paid to the states by new-car dealerships were estimated at nearly $1 billion in 2013.

The report was prepared for the National Automobile Dealers Association.

Edmunds says: Your local car dealers have a major impact on your community – far beyond providing shiny new wheels to car shoppers.