Automakers report mixed U.S. sales results as hybrids drive market

DETROIT — U.S. vehicle sales in the second quarter are turning into a story of haves and have-nots as automakers that offer hybrid models outperform those that don’t amid high gasoline prices and falling demand for all-electric vehicles.

World leader in hybrid Toyota engine On Wednesday, reported a 1.1% increase in second-quarter sales, driven by a roughly 20% increase in electrified vehicle sales.

Hyundai Motor, up 4% in the latest quarter, reported a 67% increase in hybrids in the first half, while Honda engine reported that record electrified sales helped it post an 8.4% increase in overall sales during the second quarter. Kia, up about 3%, also reported a 152% increase in hybrid sales during the second quarter.

“Hybrids are definitely our growth engine right now,” Randy Parker, CEO of Hyundai and Genesis North America, said on a conference call Wednesday. “Hybrids are really, really taking off right now because consumers, I think, are prioritizing fuel efficiency and lower operating costs because of high gasoline prices.”

Gas prices are up more than 20% compared to the same time last year, according to AAA.

In the meantime, General engineswhich offers a wide range of electric vehicles but only one hybrid, a low-volume Corvette, reported a 4.2% decline in second-quarter sales.

The juxtaposition of hybrids between GM, the top-selling automaker in the United States, and No. 2 Toyota led Cox Automotive to note last week that the Japanese automaker was narrowing its sales gap with the Detroit automaker.

“At these rates, and what we’re seeing in sales rates right now, GM could be looking over their shoulder, when we get to the end of the year, that Toyota could potentially overtake them as the best-selling manufacturer here in the U.S. market,” Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist and senior director of industry research at Cox Automotive, said at a media event.

Cox Automotive and JD Power expect second-quarter sales to be roughly flat compared to the previous year. Cox forecasts an industry sales decline of 0.5%, while JDP expects a 0.7% increase in vehicles sold.

Automotive data firm Motor Intelligence estimated Wednesday that U.S. industry sales for June were up 7.5% from a year ago, leading to an adjusted monthly sales pace of 16.67 million units, which was higher than many forecasters expected.

Last week, Cox Automotive forecast a 2.9% decline in U.S. auto sales to 15.8 million vehicles, including a 3.4% drop in retail sales. This included an adjusted sales rate forecast of 16.1 for June.

Second-quarter outliers include Chrysler parent Stellantisup 5.9%, and Nissan engineup 9.6%. Both offer limited electrified models, including hybrids and/or electric vehicles, but are in the midst of sales-focused turnaround plans.

“At a time when customers are striving to maximize the value of every dollar they spend, our lineup offers high quality, capability and the right mix of products,” Tiago Castro, Nissan Americas senior vice president of sales and marketing, said in a statement Wednesday.

Having the right product mix is ​​essential for automakers. Right now, besides hybrids, the right mix increasingly means having affordable vehicles, as many Americans struggle with inflation, high gas prices and other issues have been priced out of the new vehicle market.

Expectations for new vehicle sales in the United States this year are relatively stable or even declining, according to several analyst and company forecasts.

Ford enginewhich reports sales results on Thursday, should also be an outlier. Cox Automotive expects the company, struggling with a loss in pickup truck production, to be down 11.5% during the second quarter.

Cox also expects Teslawhich does not release regional sales data, fell more than 20% during the second quarter as demand for electric vehicles last year began to rise ahead of expectations the Trump administration would end $7,500 incentives for consumers to buy an electric vehicle.

GM said its second-quarter electric vehicle sales were down 33% from last year.

Each of GM’s brands saw year-over-year sales declines during the second quarter, led by a 19.2% decline at Cadillac. Buick was down 7.5%, Chevrolet was down 3.9% and GMC was down 0.3%.

Despite the declines, including that of its Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, a GM executive described the company’s business as “performing,” including remaining disciplined around sales incentives and highly profitable full-size pickup trucks.

“Our business is performing well and customer demand is resilient, particularly for our trucks and SUVs. The depth, breadth and appeal of our vehicle portfolio allows us to lead the market in sales, while maintaining discipline on inventory, pricing and incentives to generate strong margins,” Duncan Aldred, president of GM North America, said in a statement.

GM said that despite a 7.7% decline in its Silverado pickups for the quarter, including a 25.9% decline for its electric truck, the company still expects to have gained market share in the full-size truck segment during the period.

Its GMC Sierra pickup trucks did better, with a 5% increase in sales, including double-digit increases for its electric and light-duty 1500 models amid tough comparisons. GM recorded its best combined sales of Silverado and Sierra full-size pickup trucks in 20 years in 2025, leading to a sixth consecutive year leading this highly profitable U.S. segment.