New Car Sales Up 2.5% to 15.7M After Strong Q4
Automotive News reports U.S. light-duty vehicle sales increased by 2.5% in 2024, finishing the year with a total of 15.7 million new units sold to 2023’s 15.3 million. The improvement was driven in part by a 4.1 million-unit fourth quarter in which hybrids, EVs and pickups led the charge.
“Automakers with something for every buyer, especially smaller light trucks, fared better than most,” writes AN’s David Phillips.
Among the best performers in the Q4 and year-end reports was General Motors, which improved by 21% compared with the year-ago quarter and 4.3% at year-end. GM’s Cadillac (35%) and GMC (33%) divisions were its biggest gainers; as Phillips notes, GM’s Q4 (4.2%) and December (3.5%) incentive spending was well below the national average.
Fellow Detroit 3 automakers Ford and Stellantis reported modest gains and worrisome losses, respectively, with Ford up 4.2% and Stellantis down 14.6% at year’s end. Austin, Texas-based Tesla’s annual sales fell for the first time in nine years.
Each of the major Japanese and Korean players improved their U.S. sales in 2024, including Honda (8.8%), Toyota (3.7%), Hyundai-Kia (3.4%) and Nissan (2.8%). Mazda dealers sold more than 424,000 new units in 2024, a 16.8% improvement from 2023.
Major premium brands had mixed results, with Jaguar-Land Rover (29.4%), Mercedes-Benz (9%) and BMW (2.5%) notching year-end gains and Audi (-14%) and Volvo (-2.7%) losing ground.
