New Car Dealers Association
San Diego County
For more than 100 years, the New Car Dealers Association® San Diego County (NCDA) has served as the voice of franchised new car and truck dealers throughout the San Diego region.
The NCDA brings dealers together to address the challenges and opportunities facing the retail automotive industry. Through legislative advocacy, education, compliance resources, workforce development, consumer outreach and signature events like the San Diego International Auto Show®, the Association helps dealers succeed while strengthening the industry as a whole.
Membership provides far more than access to programs and services—it connects dealers to a professional community dedicated to protecting the franchise system, supporting dealership success and ensuring that San Diego’s new car dealers continue to thrive for generations to come.
San Diego New Car Dealers Economic Impact
New car dealers have a significant and positive monetary impact on San Diego’s economy, with more than $12 billion in combined sales and employing over 14,000 full- and part-time workers. Our Economic Impact Report highlights employment statistics, tax revenue generation, advertising spending and charitable contributions – all which demonstrate that San Diego’s new car dealers are a major economic force in the county. Learn more about our Economic Impact Reports.
Associate Member Program
The NCDA offers Associate Membership to a wide range of companies and organizations that support and/or provide services to Dealer Members. This includes:
- accounting firms
- advertising companies
- vehicle auction companies
- automotive parts and services
- consumer service organizations
- credit companies
- compliance and training firms
- financial institutions
- insurance companies/brokers
- legal firms
- print and electronic media companies
Click here for a directory of existing Associate Members.
Benefits of Associate Membership include: company listing in the Membership Directory, participation and sponsorship opportunities at the annual NCDA Annual Golf Tournament, opportunities to advertise and submit articles to San Diego Dealer magazine, invitation to the annual dealer dinner, a dedicated Associate Members section on the NCDA’s website and additional dealer communications options we’re presently developing. For more information, or to apply for an Associate Membership, please contact us.
Community and Educational Support
The New Car Dealers Association and its Dealers Members support the San Diego County community through a variety of philanthropic programs and contributions. During the past several years, the NCDA and its Dealer Members have provided millions of dollars to support underprivileged youth, children and young people with disabilities, home-bound senior citizens, and military families in need.
For more than a decade, franchised new car dealers have provided the funds for Meals on Wheels San Diego to deliver Thanksgiving meals to all its clients. Dealers played a major role in establishing Honor Flight San Diego, an organization that assists World War II veterans fly to Washington, DC to see their memorial and be honored for their service. Additionally, franchised new car dealers support organizations like the California Highway Patrol’s Auto Theft Advisory Committee, which annually honors law enforcement officers who recover stolen vehicles and arrest those who are involved in auto theft in San Diego County.
Additionally, the NCDA provides educational support for students in San Diego County seeking careers in the automotive industry through the New Car Dealers Association Endowed Scholarship.
Please note: We are no longer taking additional charitable donation
requests at this time as we have already allocated our budget for 2024.
National Automotive Technology Competition
For more than a decade, the NCDA has sponsored teams from San Diego County high schools to participate in the annual National Automotive Technology Competition held in conjunction with the New York International Auto Show. The National Automotive Technology Competition is a test of skill, a measure of knowledge, and a race against the clock all rolled into one. It features hundreds of the nation’s best high school automotive education students from across the country competing for the title of Nation’s Best Automotive Technician. Unfortunately, this competition was suspended during COVID and hasn’t yet restarted.
NCDA Annual Golf Tournament
Every spring, the NCDA hosts its annual golf outing that brings together Dealer and Associate Members for an exciting and competitive day of golf. In addition to trophies for Best Gross and Net scores, competitions include a putting contest, longest drive, closest to the pin and the always challenging hole-in-one contest.
The day concludes with a festive cocktail reception, luncheon and famed opportunity drawing.
San Diego
International Auto Show
Owned, produced and presented by the New Car Dealers Association, the San Diego International Auto Show has grown to become the second largest auto show in California and the highest-attended consumer event at the San Diego Convention Center. Chosen as a global destination for manufacturers to showcase their products, the San Diego International Auto Show – Where the Cars are the Stars – is one of the primary means of stimulating automobile sales throughout the county. Learn More >>