Closed Dealerships in the US Hit Record Number

The recession made it impossible for some of the car dealers in the US to avoid bankruptcy. Though the government made important efforts to save as many as it could, some of the showrooms became yoga studios, grocery stores or hair dresser saloons.

Unfortunately, the car sales drop caused a record number of dealers closures in 2009, said consulting firm Urban Science. The number of new car dealerships in the US dropped by 1,605 stores last year, leaving 18,841 dealerships standing. The news is not all bad, as despite the recession some new dealerships opened.

“Automakers and dealers have to reach a greater territory with fewer resources,” John Frith, the firm’s vice president of retail channel solutions, said in a statement. “It’s more critical than ever to work together for mutual, profitable growth.”

The 8 percent decline in dealerships is the worst the United States had witnessed since 1991, when Urban Science started to gather data. Back in 2008, records show 881 dealers were closed, and 2009 nearly doubled that number. The normal attrition in the US is 1 percent.

If you’re thinking that the data is not relevant - as Urban Science only has detailed figures going back to 1991 - let us tell you that you’re wrong. Executives previously said the 2009 decline would be the worst on record going back to at least the 1950s.

Urban Science said the cities with the largest net decline of stores, by percentage, included Charleston, S.C., at 16.3 percent; Stockton, Calif., at 16.2 percent; Albany, N.Y., at 15.5 percent; Poughkeepsie, N.Y., at 15.2 percent and Greensboro, N.C., at 14 percent. States with the highest percentage declines were Alaska, Mississippi, South Carolina, Arkansas and Missouri.