Car Audio Forecast for 2026

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Car audio sales forecast for 2026

Car audio wholesale revenue (sales to dealers) is expected to fall by 4 percent this year compared to 2025, according to the Consumer Technology Association’s latest forecast.

Total wholesale revenue of aftermarket car audio, including security, ADAS and dashcams is estimated to reach $2.56 billion, down from $2.66 billion in 2025.

Close to 4 million aftermarket head units sell to dealers each year, as well as under 400,000 CarPlay/Android Auto adapters, said the CTA. Speaker sales are over 4.5 million units and amplifier sales are over 1 million units. The largest category is OE integration devices at under 11 million units.

The only categories expected to gain in units are ADAS and security, each rising 2 percent. In dollars, ADAS will decline slightly by 1 percent and security will remain flat. Dashcam sales to dealers should fall 3 percent in units and 5 percent in dollars this year.

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5 Comments

  1. The date today is January 28th. You have no clue and no idea what you are talking about. We grew our business by 40% last year and our goal this year is only 25% and we will eclipse that. Dealers need to adapt. If you don’t adapt you will be the next Service Merchandise. If you don’t understand that Google, chat gpt, or do what ever you need to to understand.

  2. CEA never misses an opportunity to be wrong. The 1st Q will be VERY robust for aftermarket car audio, as middle income Americans see the largest tax returns in history. Prices of head units are already softening and incomes are greatly outpacing inflation, especially for low to middle income earners. The average age of a car in the US is 12.6 years, which will continue to drive head unit replacement sales. I could be wrong,,,,,,,,,but probably not.

    1. To Mike and Kirk. Thanks for your comments. Yes, those are numbers from the CTA (formerly known as CEA). We are writing another story now on retailers who were significantly up in sales last year and how they achieved that. Krik we would
      Like to give you a call. Mike, glad to hear your forecast!

    2. I just did my taxes.. same as last year, and the year before.. nothing has changed. Not sure where this claim is coming from?

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