Despite the shortage of new vehicle inventory due to supply chain issues, sales of new light-duty vehicles rose to 14.9 million in 2021 ‒ a 3% increase over 2020. This is 2.6 million lower than the peak of 17.5 million sales in 2016.
Note: Includes all vehicles up to 14,000 lbs. gross vehicle weight rating.
Sources: 1970-2020 - Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Transportation Energy Data Book: Edition 39, August 2021.
ABC News, New auto sales up in 2021, but long way before full recovery, Detroit, MI, January 4, 2022.