Ford and Lincoln's strategy of offering customers a choice of vehicle powertrains is paying off, according to the automaker, which reported retail sales were up 4% in Q3 2024 compared to the same quarter last year.
Overall, U.S. retail industry sales are estimated to be flat for the quarter.
Ford said customers continued to favor hybrid vehicles during the summer months. Sales increased 38% to 48,101 in the third quarter, while electric vehicle sales grew 12% -- making Ford the No. 2 EV brand in the U.S.
Ford was also the top-selling brand in several segments, including trucks (F-Series), hybrid trucks (F-150 Hybrid), vans (Transit), three-row SUVs (Explorer) and sports cars (Mustang.)
Other automakers also reported Q3 and September sales.
Honda
American Honda reported it sold 105,527 units in September, an 8.8% increase compared to the same month last year. That brought its total sales year to date past 1 million, a month earlier than American Honda reached the same milestone in 2023.
The Honda brand reported September sales of 95,601, while the Acura brand sold 9,926 units.
American Honda’s electrified model sales topped 90,000 units in Q3, the company’s all-time best sales quarter for EV and hybrid-electric models.
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. closed out Q3 2024 with sales results of 31,588. On a year-to-date basis, sales of 82,718 represent an increase of 22.1%.
Outlander led the brand's sales results with 11,138 sales, an increase of 19.3% year-over-year (YOY), and up 6.3% YTD. With plug-in hybrid vehicles gathering momentum in the marketplace, the Outlander Plug-in Hybrid recorded 2,279 sales for the quarter, up 20.8% YOY.
Toyota
Toyota Motor North America reported U.S. September sales of 162,595 vehicles, down 20.3% on a volume basis and down 9.9% on a daily selling rate (DSR) basis versus September 2023. September electrified vehicle sales consisting of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, pure electrics and fuel cells were 48.4% of total sales volume and totaled 78,683, up 22.4% on a volume basis and up 38.3 percent on a DSR basis.
Q3 2024 U.S. sales totaled 542,872 vehicles, down 8% on a volume basis. Q3 electrified vehicle sales totaled 255,863, up 38.6% on a volume basis.
Year-to-date U.S. sales totaled 1,729,519 vehicles, up 6.2% on a volume basis. Year-to-date electrified vehicle sales totaled 710,060, up 56% on a volume basis, representing 41.1% of total sales for the period.
Kia
Kia America closed September with sales of 58,913 units led by gains and record-setting sales performances by the brand's broad lineup of EV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles. Despite fewer selling days compared to last year, Kia's EVs and PHEVs are up 43% and 11% year-over-year.
Year-over-year, four Kia models -- Sportage (+10%), Forte (+6%), Carnival (+5%) and Seltos (+2%) -- are up through the third quarter recording the best-ever year-to-date September sales.
September SUV sales increased over the same period last year and accounted for 74% of Kia's monthly total, while electrified models made up 17% of the September volume.
Hyundai
Hyundai Motor America reported total September sales of 62,491 units, a 9% decrease compared with September 2023. Hyundai set total sales records in September for Santa Fe HEV (+87%), Tucson HEV (+52%), and Palisade (+9%). Hybrid vehicle total sales jumped 36%.
In the third quarter, Hyundai established a new record for Q3 retail sales. Hyundai total sales were 210,971 units, a 5% increase over Q3 2023 sales and the second best Q3 in the company's history.
Hyundai Motor Company also celebrated 100 million units of global cumulative production, 57 years since the company's foundation, making it one of the fastest in the global automotive industry.
Mazda
Mazda North American Operations reported total September sales of 29,841 vehicles, an increase of 6.5% compared to September 2023. Year-to-date sales totaled 313,452 vehicles sold, an increase of 15% compared to the same time last year. With 23 selling days in September, compared to 26 the year prior, the company posted an increase of 20.3% on a Daily Selling Rate basis.
CPO sales totaled 5,608 vehicles in September, a decrease of 3% compared to September 2023.
Subaru
Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) reported 56,414 vehicle sales for September 2024, an increase of 0.1% compared with September 2023 (56,355). SOA also reported year-to-date sales of 493,612, a 5.6% increase compared with the same period in 2023.
Crosstrek achieved its best September ever with 16,633 vehicles sold, surpassing the record of 16,092 set in September 2022, and a 24.7% increase compared to September 2023. Outback was the second-highest selling carline in September with 13,991 vehicles sold. Demand for Forester continued to grow, with 13,111 vehicles sold while production continues to ramp up to full capacity.