Urban Science® today announced highlights from its 2025 Year-End Automotive Franchise Activity Report (FAR), which shows continued stability across the U.S. automotive retail network. The number of franchise dealerships (rooftops) rose from 18,374 in 2024 to 18,398 in 2025, reflecting modest year-over-year growth. Meanwhile the number of franchises — brands a dealership sells — saw a slight decline, falling from 30,124 in 2024 to 29,708 in 2025.
“Despite minor fluctuations throughout the year, 2025 reflected overall stability across the U.S. automotive retail network, but those figures only tell part of the story,” said Mitch Phillips, global director of data at Urban Science. “Shifting consumer powertrain preferences and evolving buying behaviors are reshaping the market, requiring automakers to remain nimble. As the landscape continues to change, long-term, science-driven network planning grounded in daily sales data is essential to confident decision-making and sustained dealership efficiency and profitability. To stay ahead of emerging opportunities and headwinds, leading OEMs are evaluating myriad network scenarios through advanced, real-time visualization — an approach that promotes competitiveness now and in the decade ahead.”
Additional insights from Urban Science’s 2025 Year-End Franchise Activity Report include the following:
2026 forecasts point to a dip in dealership throughput after 2025 gains
Urban Science reported overall retail throughput — the number of vehicles sold per dealership — increased by 16 units in 2025, reaching 889 units per store. Despite this growth, current forecasts indicate throughput will decline to 877 units this year.
Electric vehicle sales performance continued its upward trajectory in 2025 with EV throughput rising to 173 units per store in 2025, a 12% year-over-year increase. Additional EV sales insights and trends are available in Urban Science’s Q4 2025 EV Retail sales report, available here.
CBSAs remain stable; New Jersey recorded the largest state-level increase in dealerships in 2025
According to Urban Science, 95% of core-based statistical areas (CBSAs) in the U.S. saw virtually no net change (+/- one store) in dealership counts for 2025, a slight decrease from 97% at the midpoint of 2025.
New Jersey led all states with a net increase of nine dealerships. Other states across the country recorded dealership gains as well, with Texas (+8), Florida (+6), Georgia (+6) and South Carolina (+6) leading the pack behind New Jersey. Pennsylvania (-8), California (-5) and Missouri (-5) experienced the largest declines in dealership counts in 2025.
