General Motors Co. in Detroit paced the Detroit Three automakers with 746,588 deliveries in the second quarter, an increase of 7 percent. Ford Motor Co. in Dearborn checked in with 612,095 total vehicle sales between April and June for a 14.2 percent improvement. Stellantis reported 309,976 U.S. Q2 sales, 10 percent behind 2024 numbers.
GM led the U.S. automotive industry in total and retail sales in the year’s first six months, with sales growth ahead of the estimated 4 percent total auto industry growth.
“The investments we have made in our crossovers, SUVs, and pickups — both gas and electric — along with great execution by our employees, suppliers and dealers, have made GM the engine of growth for the U.S. industry this year,” says Duncan Aldred, senior vice president of GM and president of North America.
GM credits its all-new or redesigned models like the Chevrolet Trax, Traverse, and Equinox, GMC Acadia and Terrain, and Buick Envista and Encore GX for its sales success.
Chevrolet had its best first-half sales since 2019, up 9 percent. Coupled with GMC’s best-ever start to the year, including record Sierra deliveries, GM is on track for its sixth consecutive year as the industry’s full-size pickup sales leader and its 51st year as the full-size SUV leader.
Ford estimates it boosted its market share to 14.3 percent during the quarter, largely due to pickup sales (288,564) and a 13.5 percent increase in Ford Pro Super Duty sales.
“Customers continue appreciating our broad powertrain choices — gas, hybrid, electric, and diesel — digital productivity tools that save time and money, and our Ford Motor Co.: From America, For America commitment,” says Andrew Frick, president, Ford Blue and Model e, and interim head of Ford Pro.
At Stellantis, although overall sales were down compared to last year, it showed Q2 from Q1 improvements for the Jeep brand (6 percent) and the Ram brand (18 percent). Ram fleet sales increased 57 percent Q2 over Q1 and Dodge Charger Daytona total sales increased 21 percent over the same period.
“We continue to see total sales growth for Jeep and Ram brands, with Ram fueled by sales of the Ram 1500,” says Jeff Kommor, head of U.S. sales. “We plan to build on that success in the second half of the year. We’ve already seen consumer interest spurred by the return of the HEMI V-8, with the brand receiving over 10,000 orders in the first 24 hours of the June announcement.
“Jeep is also seeing momentum with a total sales increase of 1 percent year over year, the brand revealed the first images of the new Jeep Cherokee in the important mid-size SUV segment, arriving later this year, and the brand’s Jeep Wrangler 4xe sales scored its best April monthly sales to date.”
On the EV side, Ford sold a record 156,509 electrified vehicles in the first half (up 14.7 percent), outselling the combined electrified portfolios of GM and Stellantis. Hybrids jumped double-digits to 117,521 in the first half as Maverick Hybrid remained America’s best-selling hybrid pickup and F-150 Hybrid led full-size pickups. The all-electric Mustang Mach-E, F-150 Lightning, and E-Transit — averaged 12,996 sales per nameplate through June. Electrified vehicles represented 13.5 percent of Ford’s total second quarter volume.
GM became the industry’s No. 2 electric vehicle seller last year, and its EVs continue to grow, with sales of 46,280, up more than 100 percent in Q2. During the quarter, Chevrolet became the best-selling EV brand. Cadillac is the luxury EV market share leader in Q2, and had its best retail market share since 2014, according to the automaker.
While the automakers try to put a positive spin on their quarterly sales reports, analysts often look at the bigger picture.
“June sales are subdued, with the sales pace falling to its lowest level in the past 12 months,” says Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division at J.D. Power in Troy.
“There are three critical factors to understand when evaluating June results,” King continues. “The first is that year-over-year comparisons are affected by a large dealer software outage event that limited many dealers’ ability to sell vehicles in June 2024. This event reduced retail sales by approximately 85,000 vehicles, meaning that year-over-year sales results appear considerably more favorable than they actually are.
The second factor, he says is payback from the tariff-related rush to showrooms in March and April of this year. In those months, approximately 173,000 extra vehicles were sold as buyers pulled purchases forward in anticipation of future tariff-driven price hikes. That pull-ahead effect has now become a payback effect, deflating June sales below the actual level of vehicle demand.
“The third factor is that while pre-tariff expectations were that discounts would rise during the course of 2025, they have actually fallen,” he notes. “Specifically, incentive spending expressed as a percentage of MSRP has declined from 6.1 percent in January 2025 to just 5 percent in June. This reflects the cost-pressure tariffs are creating for manufacturers, but it is also causing some shoppers looking for affordable vehicles to remain on the sidelines.
King also notes that there has yet to be a material increase in new-vehicle MSRPs due to tariffs.
“While exceptions exist, MSRPs are generally remaining stable. Changes in the average transaction price of new vehicles are driven by the combination of manufacturer discounts, retailer profitability and the mix of new vehicles being sold.”
