Amid a yearlong decline for the Colorado car industry, data released Thursday by the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association provides the first hint of market recovery.

Colorado’s new vehicle registrations increased by 5.1% in November compared to November 2019. In the same period, light truck registrations increased by 11% and passenger car registrations decreased by 18%.

CADA President Tim Jackson called the increase “a sign of Colorado’s resilience.”

“While we continue to see negative data overall, the percentage of decline has steadily improved since last spring,” Jackson said.

Colorado pandemic unemployment claims highest since program’s first week

Overall, for the first 11 months of 2020, new vehicle registrations have dropped by 13.1% compared to 2019. However, registrations have increased by 1.3% when looking at October and November alone.

Colorado’s car market has also fared better than the country on average, which is seeing a 14.9% year-over-year decline.

“Demand for new vehicles is being driven by steady gas prices, historically low interest rates and innovations by new car dealers, helping to offset those unemployment and consumer confidence concerns,” Jackson said.

CDPHE finalizes framework for 5-Star Variance Program

Registrations of Lincolns, RAMs and Kias have increased in Colorado through 2020, rising by 4.8%, 3.8% and 2.2%.

However, the state’s top market leaders remain Toyota, Ford, Subaru, Chevrolet and Jeep.

Registration of brands from all countries is down in Colorado, with South Korean brands dipping by 2.3%, Japanese brands by 16.6%, European brands by 13.4% and domestic brands 11.2%

Over the past 11 months, Colorado’s used vehicle market has dropped by 15.9%.