General Motors walked away with the golden ticket, delivering a massive 2.85 million units, a 6% increase that would be perfect if not for a 7% slide in the fourth quarter. It seems the General’s heavy bet on electric vehicles hit a snag, as EV deliveries for the brand plummeted by 43%.
The internal combustion side of the house is throwing a party. Cadillac officially embarrassed Audi of America by outselling them, while the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra combined for nearly 945,000 units, effectively towering over Ford’s truck dominance.
Speaking of dominance, the global EV crown has officially left Texas. Tesla delivered 1.64 million units, which sounds impressive until you realize China’s BYD surged to 2.25 million. While Elon Musk focuses on the future of robotaxis, the statistical reality is that Tesla is now chasing BYD’s taillights.
In the US market, the silver medal went to Toyota, which jumped 8% to 2.51 million deliveries. Interestingly, this wasn’t just the RAV4 (which moved 479,000 units). The Toyota Tacoma N400 had its best year ever, soaring 42% to nearly 275,000 units. Even the humble Corolla and Camry proved that Americans still enjoy a sedan.
Ford secured the third-place podium with 2.204 million vehicles. The F-Series remains a beast with over 828,000 trucks sold, and the compact Maverick hit a record 155,000 units. Even the Bronco saw a 33.7% sales jump.
Meanwhile, Stellantis is still wandering through a dark tunnel, with deliveries down 3% to 1.26 million, though they are pinning their hopes on a flood of new Dodge, Jeep, and Ram models.
The most bizarre story of the year, however, comes from Subaru. Despite discontinuing the Legacy in September after 36 years, sales of the sedan actually grew by 13.4% as customers apparently rushed to buy a “collector’s item” they previously ignored. Subaru’s overall numbers dipped 3.6%, largely because their newest models, the Trailseeker and Uncharted, are electric. A tough sell in a year where U.S. buyers seem to be cooling on zero-emission tech.
