Major automakers report sales jumps of radical consumer surges

Several major automakers, including Detroit Giants General Motors and Ford, reported U.S. car sales increased in the second quarter on Tuesday.

Sales were particularly active early in the quarter as President Donald Trump’s upcoming tariff expectations dominated the news. In addition to US companies, Japanese automakers Toyota, Honda and South Korean brands reported sales increase compared to Stretch in 2024.

Garrett Nelson, equity analyst at CFRA Research, said:

The automotive industry is approaching the centre of Trump’s efforts to reset global trade, but consumers have yet to see a significant price rise due to tariffs.

This is because businesses rely on existing inventory, including vehicles imported prior to customs duties. Prices are expected to rise further in the second half of 2025, but market supply and demand forces could constrain such hikes, analysts said.

GM has gained good sales of models for customers looking for affordable vehicles with a 7.3% increase in vehicle delivery to 746,588, lagging behind its continued solid performance in pickup trucks and SUVs.

These include the Chevrolet Equinox and Chevrolet Trucks, low-cost vehicles imported from Korea.

Meanwhile, Ford won a sales jump of 14.2% of sales at 612,095, reflecting the benefits of a popular program that offered customer employee pricing in many models.

Most of Ford’s major vehicles saw sales increase, including the bestselling pickup F-series and Ford Explorer SUVs.

Ford reported a surge in sales of its hybrid vehicle, despite low sales of its all-electric F-150 Lightning truck and Mustang Mach-E.

The two companies were expected to see higher sales, but a slight increase compared to the increase in analysts at edmunds.com.

At Toyota, sales jumped to 7.2%, with 666,470 cars earning double-digit increases in multiple vehicles, including the Toyota Camry Sedan and the Toyota Tacoma Pickup truck.

Honda, Kia and Hyundai reported a quarterly sales increase of 5-10%.

However, Nissan reported that 6.5% of quarterly sales fell to 221,441, while Jeep owner Stellantis was projected by Edmunds to 12.8% to over 300,000 vehicles.

Consumer pressure

The US imposed a 25% tariff on imported vehicles in early April.

The Trump administration also enacted a 25% tariff on imported auto parts in early May, but White House officials allowed a two-year grace period, providing that carmakers would not face overlapping tariffs due to the collection of 25% on imported steel and aluminum.

Retail car prices haven’t risen significantly, but analysts at Cox Automotive last week pointed to the recent decline in dealer incentives as evidence of the market somewhat more severe.

Cox Automotive Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke is forecasting a 8% increase in prices due to tariffs, and “I don’t think consumers or fleet buyers will be able to accept that additional cost and will be happy to accept it,” he said at a briefing last week.

Smoke predicted that economic uncertainty and whether the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates could lead many buyers to postpone their purchases.

Nelson said car manufacturers must be “very careful” to raise prices.

“Things have cooled down from where they were at the beginning of the quarter,” he said. “Everything we see suggests that consumers are still very price sensitive.”

©2025 AFP