American car buyers are rediscovering smaller vehicles. General Motors posted a big rise in sales of its small SUVs in the third quarter, including the Chevrolet Trax and Trailblazer. Sales of the Hyundai Elantra sedan jumped 18%. Toyota Motor’s small Corolla is sharply up this year. All carry sticker prices starting below $25,000.
Meanwhile, sales of some big SUVs struggled. GM recorded declines in hulking SUVs like the Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe. Hyundai’s three-row Palisade SUV dropped 1% in the third quarter. Jeep’s Grand Cherokee declined by 30%. “Thank God we never gave up on passenger cars because that’s helping us gain a little bit of share in the marketplace,” said Randy Parker, chief executive of Hyundai Motor America.
Overall, U.S. new-vehicle sales are expected to dip slightly in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to car-shopping firm Edmunds. Analysts have been expecting auto sales to be flat or down for 2026 overall, suggesting that higher sticker prices and gas prices are wearing on consumers. GM and Ford Motor have leaned in to selling their more profitable SUVs and pickups as they have largely pulled out of the sedan business.
Despite the downward slide in sales, GM was able to hold on to its crown as America’s top carmaker by volume, a title that Toyota is closing in on. Honda said its passenger cars rose 18% in sales in the third quarter, their best performance since 2020. Ford doesn’t release its quarterly sales data until Friday but Cox forecasts its sales fell 7% in the quarter.
Source: Wall Street Journal US Business · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing