The new president of the New Car Dealers Association of B.C. was in Kelowna Thursday morning with a simple message.

"The B.C. new car dealers are strong, viable and here to do business. They are working very hard to make sure their businesses are viable and will continue," says Blair Qualey.

"What we are seeing here in Kelowna is a fine example of that. We have a very strong group."

Qualey was in Kelowna meeting with new car dealers and took a few minutes to speak with local media about the state of the industry.

"2009 was an unprecedented year and we were in uncharted waters. We wound up about 15% off of the numbers of 2008."

He says dealers within the industry did a lot of work to ensure they would be able to weather the storm and keep their current staffing levels.

Qualey says now that the recession is behind us, people are talking about increases in auto sales. Some are forecasting an increase of better than 6%.

"We are hearing it anecdotally from dealers who say people are coming in and kicking tires and trying new vehicles. A lot of folks sat on the sidelines for a long time, waiting to see what was going to happen and those folks are now feeling more confident and coming in because they need to replace a vehicle."

The new car industry in the United States once thrived on a yearly sales total of upwards of 17 million units per year.

Qualey doesn't think the industry will see those levels again. He says it's a new world now, one which the manufacturers and dealers are trying to adapt to.

He says he believes the consumer will be the big winner.

"The exciting thing right now for the auto sector, and I think for consumers, is the selection is unbelievable in terms of technology. Even a simple base vehicle, what you get in terms of handling and safety is light years ahead of what you could get even two years ago."

Qualey says there is more selection in the market than there ever has been, which is also good for the consumer.

"We are seeing more selection in terms of types of vehicles and different types of drive trains available to consumers to meet their lifestyle and their needs. All you have to do is look at the dealer lots here in Kelowna to see there is a really diverse cross section of vehicles you have to choose from."

News was not all rosy in the automobile industry Thursday.

Word came out earlier in the day that Toyota had been forced to recall eight models of vehicles in North American, Europe and China because of an issue with the gas pedals.

Qualey says he doesn't believe the extensive recall will erode consumer confidence in the fragile industry.

"I think consumer confidence in the auto industry is improving. Things happen in business. This is an unfortunate one and they are working hard to fix it. I don't get the sense, in the long run, it is going to be damaging."