Colorado Is The Leading Nation In New Car Sales

DENVER (CBS4) – As the city gears up for the Denver Auto Show, it turns out that Colorado is leaving the other states in the dust when it comes to car sales.

Tuesday night was the Denver Auto Show's charity preview party and the show opens to the public Wednesday night.

From electric cars to hydrogen cars, to classic cars and the 50th anniversary of the Ford Mustang, the show has something for everyone.

The show boasts dozens of car displays across more than 30 show rooms this year.

President of the Colorado Auto Dealers Association Tim Jackson says the five day show is the biggest in the country from Chicago to Los Angeles.

"I'm most excited about power source technology and more diversity there," said Jackson.

The auto market in Colorado is unique as car sales here buck the national trend, recovering faster from the recession.

In a report this week the organization says nearly 16,000 new vehicles were registered in March, an increase of several thousand from January and February.

Year to year in Colorado March sales were up nearly 12 percent.

Jackson says Colorado does about 50 percent better than the national average.

"If national sale are up 8 percent we are up 12 percent. If they are up 10 percent we are up 15 percent," said Jackson.

He says it stems from Denver's lower unemployment rate, real estate market, and new home construction combining to create consumer confidence.

"I think consumer confidence is the number one economic indicator that gets people into new car showrooms," said Jackson.

In addition to the latest 2015 models the Denver Auto Show this year will also feature pavilions dedicated to solely electric, hybrid, hydrogen and compressed natural gas fueled cars.

The show starts Wednesday and runs through Sunday.

LINK: Denver Auto Show