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Dealers are still struggling to put butts in seats as 2025 winds to a close. Of the few automakers who still report their sales on a monthly basis, only a couple had anything approaching good news to share. Between rising prices and an increasingly uncertain economic climate, 2025 is on course to exit with a whimper, rather than a bang.
Earlier this year, automakers offset the early stages of a sales slump by heading off tariffs with incentive programs intended to keep sticker prices in check. Both Ford and Stellantis resurrected their employee pricing programs to offset rising costs, and the latter is also leaning on both price cuts and additional incentives to help move metal. But after flocking to dealerships to take advantage of EV and PHEV tax credits that were discontinued in September, car buyers have been fewer and much farther between in October and November.
Let’s start with the good news:
- Toyota – Toyota and Lexus combined for a volume increase of just over 2.5% for November. The company is still up nearly 8% for the year, and any positive result is just icing on the cake. To fall below its 2024 sales volume, Toyota would have to effectively close its doors for the rest of 2025. Not gonna happen.
- Hyundai/Kia – Hyundai and Kia had near-opposite Novembers. Hyundai finished slightly down compared to a year ago, while Kia finished up by a similarly negligible amount. Like penalties by opposing NFL teams, the two figures offset each other, netting them flat compared to last year. But up is up, and since Kia beat its 2024 number, that makes last month its strongest November ever in the United States.
- Ford – Like the Koreans, Ford neither found nor lost a statistically significant number of customers in November. Its sales technically declined this year, but by a whopping 40 units (out of 156,000).
Now, the not-so-good.
- Honda – Yikes. Honda blamed supply chain for its late-year tumble, and it was a big one—15%. Keep in mind, the company was far from all-in on EVs. It only had two—one Honda, one Acura—and neither is responsible for November’s deficit. HR-V, CR-V, Odyssey, Accord, Civic, Pilot and Ridgeline were all down between 5 and 27 percent in November. The only good news? Passport sales were up 50%.
- Subaru – While Subaru did move a non-trivial number of its Solterra EVs earlier this year, this is another automaker that can’t blame the EV credit for its struggles. Subaru was down more than 9% in November (after a similarly iffy October) and like Honda, there were no easy scapegoats to be found. Every model the company sells was down in November.
- Volvo – Unlike some automakers here, the Swedes have gone harder on electrified powertrains. Volvo called the U.S. market “subdued” after a drop of 10% in November.
We’re not expecting any additional November figures at this point; the other automakers reserve their reporting for quarterly releases. Check back here the first week of January for a recap of 2025 sales industry-wide.
Got a news tip? Let us know at tips@thedrive.com!
Byron is an editor at The Drive with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.
