Automobile and motorcycle sales in the U.S. grew by 9.4 percent in 2014, with the top five automakers in the market seeing double-digit gains, according to figures released on Monday by the National Automobile Dealers Association.
BMW and Harley-Davidson both saw double-digit percentage increases, with BMW actually posting the highest growth rate among the top 10 automakers. Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia captured the remaining eight spots.
The 2014 numbers also marked the first time that Honda had held the top spot since 2006. Since that time, the Japanese manufacturer has seen its market share and market share improvements stagnate, weakening its position as the number one automaker (excluding small cars) in the United States
"We're seeing growth in the U.S. auto industry that we haven't seen in a very long time," said David C. Thomas, president of the National Automobile Dealers Association. "I believe that is because of the huge shift that has taken place in the automobile and lifestyle. We're seeing more young people riding their motorcycles. We're seeing more SUV's being sold in the U.S. Absolutely, we are in a retail revolution. We are in a consumer revolution."
Thomas cited a number of factors that are attracting people to buying new cars and trucks than ever before: government incentives for purchasing a new vehicle, the rising value of the dollar and the adoption of fuel-efficient vehicles.
"We make a lot of money selling fuel-efficient vehicles here in the U.S.," he said. "Not only do we pay a lot of royalties for the fuel we buy, we also get good mileage for it