Henry Payne, Detroit News
In the US market, there are no boring moments when automakers navigate God’s consumer trends, federal regulations, juggle tariff-driven plant production, and head towards Dodge activists Molotov cocktails.
In the first six months of 2025, solid sales were on track with 16.3 million sales per year as gasoline prices fell and tariffs rose. The American romance between trucks and SUVs continued to sell, accounting for 82% of the lightly sold vehicle market. Just 10 years ago, cars accounted for 43% of the market. this year? Only 18%.
According to AutoData figures, General Motors Co. Brands led the flock in 17.6% of the market, with 15.2% and Ford Motor Co. leading the flock in 13.6%. The public has engulfed half of the market share, but also won the closest rivals of the two.
In other ways, compared to 2015, Stellantis NV (the Fiat Chrysler car at the time) fell from 12.3% to 7.4%, Nissan fell from 8.7% to 6%, while a company named Tesla Inc (despite losses over the past 12 months) failed to reach around 3.3%.
Let’s talk about enough macros, micros. Dive deeper, the numbers reveal the ra of competition and rage. What is your bestseller? Is EV still a bee’s knee? Does the Wrangler tie up the Bronco?
The Detroit News sifted through the numbers.
bestseller. The Ford F series and Chevrolet Silverado continue to ring it in the duel of marquee pickups. The F Series was the King of Sales (again) and was 412,848 units sold at 284,038 Silverado. However, Chevy’s premium sibling GMC Sierra is introduced, and the GM twins are the top team, combining 453,220 units.
A year ago, three non-picked SUVs climbed over 400,000 sales summits: Toyota RAV4 (248,295), Tesla Model Y (198,030), and Honda CR-V (196,204). This year, the RAV4 (239,451) and CR-V (212,561) are back at the pace, but Model Y reached the pothole at just 150,171 on sale, a victim of the slow rollout of the 2025 model and a victim of the often violent anti-Tesla campaign targeting Trump and brand CEO Elon Musk.
EVS. The Tesla Model 3 has registered a 38% sales jump (101,323 units) in a reworked sedan that accounts for a portion of the Slack. The Model 3 is so popular that it was not only a hand-down bestselling luxury sedan (closest competitor and segment icon, BMW 3 Series, 7:1), but also outperformed all mainstream compact sedans except for the Honda Civic and Toyota Corora.
Unfortunately, for government regulators who aimed to adopt 60% of EVs by 2030, the sale of the Model 3 was unusual as the flat electricity market with a 7.4% share of the market is flat, despite the growing product menu.
“The EVS consumer tolerance level is around 7-8% of the market where all federal incentives are in place,” said Carl Blauer, senior analyst at ISEecars.com, in an interview. “And we look forward to continuing to slide EV sales as these incentives move into next year.”
Despite losing 6% market share in 2025, Tesla controlled EV sales at 44.7% of Pie. The winner so far is the Chevrolet Equinox EV, which came in third in the EV Beauty Contest in the first phase. The 27,749 sales overturns the highest sales year for Chevrolet’s previous entry-level EV, Bolt, by over 4,000 sales years.
Sales of the Equinox EVs surged nearly 50% with 157,638 units sold next to stable equestrians equipped with an internal combustion engine.
Among the EV stalls, Honda Motor’s first two battery mobiles (Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX) shared GM’s Ultium platform, selling 26,652 units. This is more than the total of 22,053 units sold on the Peer, mid-sized GM products, Chevrolet Bleather EV and Cadillac Lilik, built on the same platform.
Muscle car. The Mustang vs Challenger vs Camaro war ended when Stellantis and GM left the segment before leaving the segment to concentrate on the EV. Only the Mustangs are still standing.
However, the pony car icon didn’t make any profit from rival end mise, reducing its 14% year-over-year to 23,551 units from 27,444.
“Muscle cars are discretionary purchases, and the decline in sales is evidence of consumer concerns about the broader economy,” analyst Brower said. “These cars also have dedicated buyers groups like pickup trucks. Challenger people are not going to buy Mustangs.”
Not even a muscle-inspired customer. After dumping the challenger and charger V-8 model under regulatory obsession, Dodge debuted the Earth-Covered, All-Electric Charger EV Coupe, which sold just 4,299 units, far below the 21,217 sold by the Challenger Ice Coupe, which rode last year’s sunset.
Jeepv. Bronco. At the heart of SUV enthusiasts is the battle for off-road hegemony between the Jeep Wrangler and the Ford Bronco. The Wrangler continued to lead horse racing with 85,624 sales (an increase of 11% over ’25), but the Bronk is on the rise.
It revived in 2021 after a 25-year break from the market, with the Bronco passing the Toyota 4 Runner with 72,063 sales.
“The Wrangler has the advantages of consistent decades of production and a loyal fan base,” Brower said. “Ford has a huge, built-in viewer from the truck, but the Bronco growth suggests that many non-Ford loyalists are also drawing in.”
Bronco’s Hello appeared to support the sale of its more affordable junior sibling, Bronco Sports. That 72,438 units raised 21.7% profits over a year ago.
Sedan Sunset. In 2015, six of the top 10 bestselling US vehicles led by the Toyota Camry were sedans. This year, only the Camry has made the top 10.
Ten years ago, 40 brands attracted the attention of our market. This year, that number is 48, with new players like Ineos, Polestar and Rivian testing the water. We will also test the next six months of customs and EV welfare pullback.
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Original issue: July 24th, 2025, 12:51pm EDT
