Sales

Despite market analysts asserting that vehicle affordability has continued to decline into the third quarter of 2026, there are signs that automakers are feeling the pressure to lower prices on select models.

For the last few decades, American vehicles have been trending toward gargantuan largeness. But there’s mounting data suggesting that may be about to change.

Way back in the last century, the world was facing a multitude of problems, and in order to inspire confidence in Americans, then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt — a big car fan! — told the country, “The only thing to fear is fear itself.”

There are plenty of ways to determine what’s “affordable” when it comes to a new car, truck, or crossover. But only one that really matters: What a buyer is willing to spend.

The good news at the pump this week is thin, but it exists. The bad news is that it's parked next to a diesel market setting fresh all-time highs and a global oil supply that isn't reaching anyone.

As politicians wrangle about what rules Chinese auto and parts makers should be subjected to in the United States, a new report out suggests the two legacy American automakers — General Motors and Ford — face tough times in 2027.

Volkswagen Group has reportedly cut its operating-margin forecast for 2026 from a range of 4 percent to 5.5 percent down to just 1 percent at best, and the fallout is going to reach every brand under the umbrella. The automaker that trades the "world's biggest" title back and forth with Toyota is now hitting the panic button.

Ford's sales are sliding, and the fix is a manufacturer-to-dealer discount that most shoppers won't see advertised anywhere.

Toyota's all-new, all-hybrid RAV4 was supposed to spend 2026 doing what the RAV4 always does: sit near the top of the sales charts as the best-selling thing in America that isn't an F-Series. Fresh styling, more power, better efficiency. Instead, production problems knocked sales down early in the year, and the Honda CR-V walked right through the open door. Honda's lead is now large enough that Toyota probably can't reel it back before the calendar runs out.

Affordability is the industry’s buzzword these days. One might think that would mean automakers are bringing down prices and that new cars and trucks would be less expensive, right. 

Uh, no.

While vehicle prices typically only move in an upward direction, many have noticed that the automotive inflation witnessed over the last several years seems to be outpacing previous eras. But this is hardly limited to new models, as there is a surplus of data showcasing that used models are actually outpacing new cars.

Elevated fuel prices drove buyers toward Honda's most efficient models in July, and the results showed up across the company's hybrid lineup. Americans purchased 36,609 Honda hybrids last month, setting a new July record, as the national gas average climbed to $4.10 per gallon — up 95 cents from a year ago.

Looking at the June 2026 consumer demand metrics reveals fascinating shifts in consumer preferences, the enduring power of classic nameplates, and how electrification is rewriting the rules of traditional vehicle segmentation.

Despite higher fuel prices tied to the conflict in Iran and persistent consumer complaints regarding vehicle affordability, American new-vehicle shoppers continue to prioritize full-size pickups and large SUVs.

New vehicle sales are down through the first six months of 2026, albeit only slightly. However, the larger issue facing automakers as the try to navigate the U.S. market is affordability. The average transaction price for a new vehicle, according to Cox Automotive, currently sits just under $50,000. It’s risen by a third during the past few years to this new all-time high. 

Our own  Matt Posky laid out a compelling case today that the U.S. automotive market is slowly sliding into a sales abyss. 

Ever since new vehicle prices started to part with economic reality, everyone has been asking each other when the auto market will finally crash. Based on mounting evidence, that day finally looks to have arrived. But calling it a crash could be a mistake, when it really looks to be more of a carefully managed long-term market decline.

Porsche reportedly opting to snub volumes to chase margins, with the CEO going so far as to suggest the automaker will be reducing its own production capacity.

Unsurprisingly, new electric vehicle sales were down nearly 22 percent in May compared to last year, but used EVs were on the move, sales rising 24.7 percent on a year-over-year basis.

The average price of a used vehicle jumped to its highest level in three years in May as reduced inventory levels pushed the amount paid toward $27,000.

Most automakers reporting May sales had reason to celebrate, but Ford isn’t one of them, revealing its results were down 13.6 percent compared to year ago numbers.

For the first time in 2026, more automakers reported sales gains than losses, led by consumers ongoing interest in hybrid vehicles. 

New vehicle sales have been steadily declining since 2025 and the industry sentiment appears to be that this is fine. Despite there formerly being a push to return to the production volumes considered normal prior to 2020, automakers haven’t seemed terribly concerned that they’re still about a million customers shy of what was formerly considered normal. But that could change as the industry is assumed to continue shrinking into next year.

With new vehicle volumes poised to decline through 2026, dealerships are understandably concerned about the future. Sales are estimated to retract by 2.5 percent (year-over-year) in the United States while leases could drop by as much as 3 percent. Canada is poised to have it even worse, with sales declining by as much as 4.7 percent. However, retailers still have an ace up their sleeve by way of their service departments.

April saw new car buyers flock to dealer showrooms ready to wheel and deal on the vehicle they wanted — last year. That meant Ford Motor Co. and the rest of the industry were facing a tough task this April to come close to last year’s numbers — and the Dearborn, Michigan-based automaker fell short.

General Motors reported its earnings rose 21.9 percent on an adjusted basis for the first quarter of 2026, led in large measure by industry-leading full-size pickup sales. However, the company’s net income dipped 5.7 percent due to costs related to its electric vehicle program.

When automakers report April sales next week, the numbers are going to be a bit ugly, analysts predict, but the comparisons to last April are tough because the numbers were artificially inflated, they note.

Few products obey the laws of supply and demand like new and used cars, but the used car market is currently acting like a rebellious teenager. Despite a significant drop in supply, previously owned vehicles saw only a small price hike in March of less than one percent.

An economist took to The New York Times to argue that the inexpensive small car was killed by wealthy buyers.

With rising gas prices now combining with average sales prices at near-record highs, automakers looking for a successful second quarter need to ramp up efforts to make vehicles more affordable and more efficient.

The head of Volkswagen’s  Scout Motors unit insists legal actions by several dealers won’t thwart the automaker’s direct-to-consumer sales model.

Most of the top automakers in the U.S. saw new vehicle sales slump in the first quarter, many of them pointing to big drops in March sales as the cause for Q1 deficits.

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Ford Motor Co. reported its new vehicle sales in February were down 5.5 percent while Volvo Cars saw its global rolling three-month sales period between December 2025 and February 2026 down 10 percent compared to the same timeframe a year ago. 

As a whole, automakers reported a solid sales month in February; however, the actual numbers varied wildly depending upon the company, ranging from Kia setting a new record to Subaru suffering nearly a double-digit decline.

Automakers are expected to share that new vehicle sales fell between 3.4 percent and 3.8 percent as dealers battled tough winter weather and rising prices.

Automakers realize that consumers are more concerned than ever about the affordability of new vehicles. They received some good news in January as affordability improved for consumers when it came to new cars, trucks and utility vehicles.

While most automakers that reported January sales Tuesday offered positive news, Ford Motor Co. didn’t follow suit Wednesday as its January sales fell 5.3 percent. 

January typically brings in some bitterly cold days, and while that’s been true for the weather across parts of the country, new vehicle sales were just the opposite as Kia, Hyundai, and Toyota reported big jumps to kick off 2026.

When it comes to sales numbers, 2025 was a good year for the auto industry; however, no company may have had a better year than General Motors, which saw all four of its divisions post sales increases over the previous year.

Toyota’s reticence to make the jump into fully electric vehicles paid off big in 2025 as it reported an 8 percent sales increase for the year with hybrids playing a major role.

American Honda overcame supplier shortages to sell 1.43 million new vehicles in 2025, topping the previous year’s total — slightly.

The public’s never-ending love of pickups combined with a new appreciation for hybrid vehicles fueled a 6 percent jump in new vehicle sales for Ford Motor Co. in 2025.

General Motors reported $2.7 billion in net income for all of 2025 despite taking $7.2 billion charge in fourth quarter after it rolled back its electric vehicle plans because of declining demand for EVs. The charge resulted in a $3.3 billion loss during the final quarter of the year.

Matt P. covered Subaru's WRX price cut today, along with the car's sales issues.

Will dropping the price give this generation of the WRX a shot in the arm? Or do we need to wait until the next generation arrives?

Subaru has tweaked the pricing of the 2026 WRX following what looks to be one of the worst sales periods in the model’s history. Deliveries of the model fell by over 40 percent last year in the United States, spelling trouble for the all-wheel drive sport compact. In response, Subaru has brought back the base trim — lowering the WRX’s entry point by over $5,000.

As the sales have come in for 2025, all things considered they are damned good, perhaps worthy of some champagne-cork popping (or at the very least the opening of a screw-top bottle of some top-shelf jug wine).

Mitsubishi's sales took a dive in 2025 -- both overall and in the fourth quarter.

Volkswagen had a bit of a rough 2025, sales-wise.

Sales numbers from the fourth quarter of 2025 have begun to trickle in. Nissan had a slight boost, but Infiniti was down a tad.

Automakers are running out of ways to rationalize price increases. They’ve done just about everything to excuse themselves as the average transaction price for a new vehicle in the U.S. reached a record high of $50,080 last month. But all they really have left is covertly boosting destination fees or blaming tariffs. Unfortunately, the limit for the former looks to have been reached. Attaching price hikes to tariffs has been something the industry has attempted to avoid. However, it looks like the last excuse they’ll be able to make.

The average transaction price for new cars has crossed $50K.

Would you pay that much for a new car?

While the role of tariffs enacted by President Donald Trump might be small when it comes to rising average transaction prices, the tariffs are costing car dealers money. At least according to one report.

Sales data for most automakers has come in. We've prepped a chart to look back at what happened in Q3, 2025.

We’ve probably said it a hundred times over the last several years and we’ll continue saying it until the situation improves. North American vehicle prices are totally out of whack in relation to what consumers can actually afford. Reports presently have the average person spending just shy of $50,000 on a new vehicle in the United States while Canadians are spending roughly $64,500 CAD — about $47,000 USD. But what are people spending in the rest of the world?

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While Chinese-built EVs are seeing an uptick in global sales, particularly in Europe, the home market has grown concerned that oversupply has become a massive issue. China’s government has reportedly asked the automotive sector to stop lowering prices.