The auto industry will continue on a steady pace of recovery, but sales won't return to pre-recession levels before 2016, according to a new five-year forecast of U.S. automotive sales published by Edmunds.com.
Edmunds.com anticipates new-car sales will climb to 15.85 million units in 2015, falling short of the benchmark of 16.1 million in 2007, the last full year before the U.S. economy fell into a recession.
On average, 11.7 million cars have been sold in the United States in each of the last three years, and Edmunds predicts 2011 sales will reach 12.9 million units.