Coloradans bought and registered 10% more “light cars” in 2021 than during the pandemic low of 2020, and electric vehicle sales were through the roof with an 81% year-over-year increase, according to a report from the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association.

New vehicle sales in the first three quarters of 2021 were up across the board, but dropped in the fourth quarter due to supply chain issues, difficulty getting computer chips and low inventory at dealerships.

Shoppers registered 242,936 new vehicles in Colorado in 2021, up from 220,921 in 2020. Projections for 2022 stand at 244,400, the report shows.

Registrations in southern Colorado, which includes Colorado Springs and Pueblo, were up 8.3% from 2020 to 34,918 in 2021, well

behind the 13.5% gain in northern Colorado and a 13% increase on the Western Slope during the same period. Denver area registrations in 2021 were up 9.5% from 2020.

“New retail light vehicle registrations in the state last year were up 10%, better than the estimated 5% increase in the U.S.,” according to the report. “It was definitely not a smooth ride, however. The market was up 19% during the first nine months of the year versus year earlier, but declined in the fourth quarter.”

Coloradans love their trucks — “light truck” sales (which include SUVS) were up 12.3% from 2020, and they made up 85.5% of the Colorado car market, with 207,824 registrations in 2021.

Though electric vehicle sales show stark year-overyear increases, the numbers were nowhere near the sale of trucks or gas-powered cars. Electric vehicle registrations rose 53% in 2021 on 11,420 registrations versus 7,488 in 2020. Hybrid vehicle registrations increased 91% in 2021 on 17,678 registrations versus 9,250 in 2020. Plug-in hybrid vehicle registrations increased 153% in 2021 on 4,451 registrations versus 1,762 registrations in 2020.

“Last year was a hilly ride for Colorado new vehicle registrations with ups and downs in the marketplace due to the ongoing pandemic, supply chain issues in the auto industry, the chip shortage, and low inventory in our statewide dealerships,” association President Tim Jackson said in a news release.

“Meanwhile, consumers continued to purchase new vehicles and overall registrations ended up in double digit positive territory.

“Going forward we anticipate more uncertainty with the economy and yet more than 44,000 vehicle purchases have been postponed in Colorado between last year and going into this year, which will have a positive effect on registrations in 2022.” Other report highlights:

• Toyota was the market share leader in Colorado, with 14.1%, followed by Ford (10.6%), Subaru (10.6%) and Honda and Chevrolet tied at 7%.

• The top-selling model in the state was the Ford F-series trucks (4.6%), Ram pickups (4.5%) and the Toyota RAV4 (3.1%)

• Used-vehicle registrations in Colorado were up 16.5% last year, well above the 10% increase in the new vehicle market.