Auto sales increased slightly last year as automakers continued to push trucks, SUVs, and crossovers as car numbers dropped. Consumers weathered rising interest rates, higher prices (as incentive spending fell), and geopolitical uncertainty, buying far more vehicles than analysts had expected.
Breaking down the numbers for the seven largest automakers representing 85% of the industry:
- General Motors – 2,954,037; -1.6%.
- Ford – 2,497,318; -3.5%.
- Toyota – 2,426,517; -0.3%.
- Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) – 2,235,204; 8.5%. The only major automaker to grow sales in 2018, FCA had a mammoth year.
- Honda – 1,604,828; -2.2%. 2018.
- Nissan – 1,493,877; -6.2%.
- Hyundai/Kia – 1,267,619; -2.2%.