Three of the four largest Orange County-based automakers trailed the national sales pace for new vehicles in May, according to New Jersey-based market researcher Autodata Corp.
U.S. auto sales declined 0.5% year-over-year, adding 1.5 million cars and light trucks, and are on track to reach 16.88 million for the year. U.S. auto dealers have sold 6.9 million vehicles this year, a 2% dip compared with the first five months of 2016.
On the local front, Orange County’s 122 franchised auto dealers sold 298,168 new and used vehicles last year, and combined for more than $12 billion in sales in 2016, according to a report this week from the Orange County Automobile Dealers Association in Newport Beach.
Auto dealers “are vital to the county’s economic strength, employing over 12,000 people,” OCADA Executive Director John Sackrison said in a statement.
