By the numbers: Light vehicle sales and more…

1,898,485: Light vehicle sales in Canada in 2015. Despite a dip in December sales, the total number of light vehicles sold in 2015 hit a record high for the third year in a row (DesRosiers Automotive Consultants).

42%: Percentage of Canadians who don’t know when to switch from regular tires to winter tires (when the temperature drops below 7°C) (Hankook Tires, Get a Grip Winter Tire Safety Poll).

50%: Percentage of in-store transactions expected to be completed via mobile devices by 2017 (Looking Further with Ford micro trends report).

12 million: The number of self-driving and driverless cars forecast to be sold globally in 2035 – about 10 percent of total global light vehicle sales (IHS Automotive).

9 days: About one-third of American entrepreneurs in the independent automotive service and repair industry report that they take fewer than 9 days of holidays per year – the lowest of any industry tracked by small-business insurance provider Hiscox Inc. (Hiscox study: “DNA of an Entrepreneur”).

159,547: Number of independent automotive repair and service shops in the U.S. in 2015. That’s down from 165,315 in 2005 — a loss of 5,768 businesses (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

29%: The percentage of new-vehicle buyers who purchased an extended warranty or maintenance package in 2015 (J.D. Power & Associates).

91.5%: The amount of value retained by the Toyota FJ Cruiser after three years on the road. Among all three-year-old vehicles, it had the best retained value, while the Smart ForTwo was lowest ranked, holding only 32.5 percent of its original price (NADA Used Car Guide).

46%: Percentage of Canadians who have work done at independent auto repair shops only. Dealerships are the exclusive service providers to 33% of Canadians, while the balance – 21% are “channel agnostic” going to both dealerships and independent shops in a given year (J.D. Power 2015 Customer Service Index Long-Term study).

81%: The most trusted source of business recommendations for American consumers come from family or friends. 76% of respondents say they trust online reviews, and 70% say they trust third-party experts. Only 47% say they trust advertisements (Experticity).