Source:  WEEKLY INSIGHT INTO THE AUTOMOTIVE AFTERMARKET FROM LANG MARKETING 

"Annual 2009 vehicle sales are in, and the picture is clear. Foreign vehicles (imports and transplants) have gained control of the U.S. new vehicle market. Foreign cars and light trucks captured 55.8% of dwindling 2009 new vehicle sales, up from 52.5% of the 2008 market and much stronger than their 48.9% share in 2007. This is phenomenal growth since 1999, when foreign models totaled only 29% of new vehicle sales."

"Americans purchased 16.2 million vehicles in 2007. By 2009, new vehicle volume slumped to 10.4 million (down 36%), as foreign cars and light trucks increased their sales share more than one-seventh in two years. Skyrocketing foreign share of new vehicles is reshaping the aftermarket."

-Jim Lang