The number of franchised new light vehicle dealerships peaked in 1949 with more than 49,000 dealers. By 2012, the number is less than half of that – 17,540 dealers.

Number of Franchised New Light Vehicle Dealerships
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Supporting Information

Number of Franchised New-Car Dealerships, 1947-2012
YearNumber of Dealerships
194745,500
194846,000
194949,200
195047,000
195147,500
195246,000
195345,200
195441,900
195540,400
195641,000
195740,000
195837,300
195936,400
196035,000
196134,500
196234,200
196333,700
196433,500
196533,700
196632,900
196732,000
196831,100
196931,000
197030,800
197130,300
197230,100
197330,100
197430,000
197529,600
197629,300
197729,100
197829,000
197928,500
198027,900
198126,350
198225,700
198324,725
198424,725
198524,725
198624,825
198725,150
198825,025
198925,000
199024,825
199124,200
199223,500
199322,950
199422,850
199522,800
199622,750
199722,700
199822,600
199922,400
200022,250
200122,150
200221,800
200321,725
200421,650
200521,640
200621,495
200721,200
200820,770
200920,010
201018,460
201117,700
201217,540

Source: National Automobile Dealers Association

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