This week, AIADA released its annual Economic Impact Report in conjunction with the manufacturer’s advocacy group Autos Drive America. Every year, we collect and consolidate the manufacturing, trade, and sales data our industry produces in order to draw a comprehensive picture of the broad and overwhelmingly positive impact international nameplate brands and retailers have on the American economy.

In this crucial election year, it is my hope that this report reaches a larger audience than ever before. As both political parties seek to rally populist support by attacking the very concepts of a level playing field on which businesses can compete, voters need to be reminded that so-called “foreign” brands are deeply woven into the fabric of our economy and our communities.

Politicians, looking to appeal to economically anxious voters, are quick to point to the rest of the world as the cause of all of our challenges. The truth is far more complicated. In this international era of business competition, withdrawing from the global marketplace would spell economic disaster for all Americans. Just as American consumers want a broad selection of choices and prices offered by our trading partners, American businesses need trade in order access to the consumers in those countries. After all, about ¾ of the world’s purchasing power and over 95 percent of the world’s consumers reside outside of America’s borders.

To put it bluntly, without trade our economy is dead in the water.

As a dealer of both domestic and international brands, I see firsthand how important it is for consumers to have access to all available choices. Buying a car is a big deal, and Americans should not have D.C. bureaucrats limiting their options. Americans also shouldn’t be told that a Kia built in Georgia, or a Toyota built in Kentucky, is somehow less American than a Ford built in Mexico. As of today, international auto manufacturers have built 31 manufacturing facilities in 13 states with 156,000 American employees building and designing 90 different vehicles. In every state, in nearly every Congressional district, 9,400+ international nameplate dealerships sold 8.7 million vehicles last year. Those stores are economic engines for the cities, towns, and country they serve — producing vital tax revenue and hundreds of thousands of stable, well compensated career positions.

A few additional highlights:

  • International nameplate auto dealerships represent a $48 billion national payroll and more than half of all dealership employment in the U.S.
  • In 2023, they pumped $4.4 billion in advertising dollars into the national economy and sold $71 billion in parts and services to American consumers.
  • International automotive manufacturers are leading the effort to develop clean technologies, selling 1.9 million green vehicles in 2023 — 60% of the green market share.
  • International automakers last year exported 762,000 U.S.— built vehicles worth $24 billion to more than 130 different countries.

If you’ve enjoyed our report before, but never shared it with others, now is the time. Go here to read and spread this information far and wide: with your employees, your customers, your fellow dealers, and your elected officials. As a country, we are at pivotal point in determining whether we want to continue to be a global economic powerhouse, or if we want to withdraw and retreat from the rest of the world. In my view, the choice is clear.

Anthony Brownlee

AIADA Chairman