GM, Ford 2024 U.S. sales are best since 2019

DETROIT – Sales of new vehicles in the U.S. continued to rise last year, rebounding from historical lows caused by the coronavirus pandemic and supply chain shortages during the past four years.

American legacy automakers General Motors and Ford Motor on Friday both reported their best annual U.S. new vehicle sales since 2019, led by growth of electrified vehicles such as all-electric and hybrid models.

Those results are in line with industrywide expectations for automakers. Market research firms expected U.S. automakers to report total sales of nearly 16 million vehicles in 2024, which would mark the industry’s best year since selling roughly 17 million units in 2019.

“We got to just under 16 million units, it looks like, for 2024, with strengthening in the last quarter,” said Stephanie Brinley, associate director of AutoIntelligence at S&P Global Mobility. “Given some of the affordability and inflationary headwinds, it’s probably a decent year … It’s moving in the direction we need to move.”

Auto sales in 2025 are expected to continue to grow but still come in shy of 2019 volumes. S&P Global Mobility and Edmunds expect sales of roughly 16.2 million vehicles this year.

Several other automakers on Friday such as Toyota Motor, Hyundai Motor and Honda Motor reported single-digit annual sales increases, also largely in line with industry expectations.

GM remained the country’s top-selling automaker, followed by Toyota and then Ford. Hyundai, including its sibling Kia, ranked fourth, followed by Honda and then Chrysler parent Stellantis, which has experienced significant sales declines in recent years.

Stellantis, formerly Fiat Chrysler, reported annual sales of roughly 1.3 million vehicles in 2024 – marking its worst year since 2010, when its predecessor was still recovering from bankruptcy.

GM reported 2024 sales of more than 2.7 million vehicles, up 4.3% from a year earlier. The automaker sold 2.9 million units in 2019.

“The driving force for our business is new vehicles with great design and performance across our portfolio, helping our dealers satisfy more customers. We’re carrying significant momentum into 2025,” Rory Harvey, GM president of global markets, said in a release.

GM said sales were driven by increases in all four of its U.S. brands as well as a roughly 50% rise in sales of electric vehicles to more than 114,400 units.

Despite the notable jump in EV sales, the vehicles only made up 4.2% of the automaker’s overall sales. GM estimated it achieved a 12% EV market share in the U.S. during the fourth quarter.

It was a similar trend at Ford, which reported a notable increase in sales of its “electrified” vehicles, including EVs and hybrids.

Ford on Friday reported 2024 sales of…