Sales Summary

According to preliminary estimates, US Light Vehicle (LV) sales fell by 2.5%
year-on-year (YoY) in December, to 1.47 million units. December 2025 had one additional selling day compared to December 2024, so on a selling day-adjusted basis, sales fell by 6.2% YoY. The daily selling rate was measured at 56.5k units/day in December 2025, up from 51.6k units/day in November 2025. The annualized selling rate was estimated at 16.1 million units/year in December 2025, up from 15.8 million units/year in November 2025. Retail sales were estimated at 1.23 million units, down by 2.8% YoY, while fleet sales were thought to total 244k units, down by 0.8% YoY. For 2025 as a whole, sales totaled 16.3 million units, up by 2.3% YoY, though volumes declined by 4.3% YoY in Q4 after a very robust first nine months.

OEM Analysis

GM finished the year strongly, with total December 2025 sales of 262k units and a market share of 17.8%, its highest since April 2025. For the year as a whole, GM sold 2.84 million units, up by 5.6% YoY, and its highest annual volume since 2019. Toyota Group was again in second place in December 2025, but its market share fell back to 15.8%, compared to 16.5% in November 2025. Still, for 2025 overall, Toyota Group delivered 2.52 million units, its highest annual volume since 2007. Ford Group was in third position both for the month of December and 2025 as a whole, selling 198k units in the final month of the year. At a brand level, Toyota led the way on 193k units, followed by Ford on 186k units, and Chevrolet on 166k units.

Model Analysis

The Ford F-150 closed out 2025 by topping the sales rankings in December, on 47.2k units. Unusually, the Chevrolet Silverado outsold the Toyota RAV4 to claim second place, on 42.2k and 42.0k units, respectively. Indeed, this was the first time since April 2023 that the Silverado surpassed the RAV4’s sales in a given month. Pickup sales tend to surge in December as tax write-offs encourage purchases before the year-end. Looking at 2025 as a whole, the Ford F-150 reclaimed the title of the country’s bestselling Light Vehicle, having fallen behind the Toyota RAV4 in 2024. The F-150 achieved volumes of 494k units in 2025, its highest since 2020, while the RAV4’s sales totaled 479k units, an all-time sales record for the model.

Segment Analysis

Although Compact Non-Premium SUV was still the nation’s bestselling segment in December, a market share of 20.2% was its lowest since July 2024. To some extent, this likely reflects the strength of Pickups in December, although the fact that Compact Non-Premium SUV volumes declined YoY could also hint at some weakness linked to model lifecycles and discontinuations. Midsize Non-Premium SUV was the second largest segment by sales in December, with a market share of 16.6%. Meanwhile, Large Pickup accounted for 15.6% of all sales in December, the segment’s strongest share since December 2022. Apart from the tax write-offs mentioned above, a relatively low level of exposure to EVs, along with end-of-year discounting, likely helped Pickup sales in the final month of the year. For 2025 overall, Compact Non-Premium SUV slightly expanded its market share YoY, from 20.9% in 2024 to 21.2% in 2025, a new all-time high. Midsize Non-Premium SUV and Large Pickup saw YoY increases in share, of 0.8 pp and 0.2 pp respectively, taking those segments to annual shares of 16.3% and 13.8%. Cars of all sizes were the main losers to emerge from 2025, with the body type representing 15.4% of the market across all size and status segments, down by 1.4 pp, YoY.  

David Oakley, Manager, Americas Sales Forecasts, GlobalData, said: “All things considered, 2025 turned out to be a reasonably good year for the US Light Vehicle market. With total annual volumes reaching 16.3 million units, it was comfortably the best year since 2019. The year was characterized by disruption and
uncertainty – first from tariffs, and then from the ending of EV tax credits. However, the industry navigated these challenges well, and the sense of urgency that the threat of price rises created seemed to cause consumers to pull forward purchases, particularly in Q2 and Q3 2025. The picture was a little different in Q4 2025, though, as EV tax credits expired, and December continued the recent trend as sales slipped YoY. With that said, results were mixed across OEMs. Those automakers with the most exposure to EVs tended to see YoY sales declines, but others prospered, achieving healthy gains. We appear to be entering a period in which the market may look more traditional in some ways – a renewed focus on providing models with a combustion engine (though hybrids will likely maintain popularity), looser emission regulations and a higher percentage of vehicles being sourced from domestic production. However, automakers will still have to keep an eye on profitability going forward, as they start to feel the need to pass on tariff costs to consumers, which could limit their ability to increase incentives”.

Forecast Updates

Some of the factors that drove sales in 2025 should unwind during 2026. The
pull-forward effects that boosted the market last year have now disappeared, barring any further changes to policy. In addition, EV sales are likely to be depressed in the earlier months of 2026. Tariffs are, at least for now, a fact of life for the automotive industry, but at levels significantly below those that were originally feared, and there is a sense that most of the larger OEMs can cope with the new status quo. However, we still expect to see some price rises in 2026, proving detrimental to sales. Our forecast sees sales declining slightly in 2026, to around 16.2 million units, down by 0.7% YoY.