New car sales in the United States continue to be in an upward trend, suggesting sustained recovery since the pandemic started.
In spring this year, several automakers went on a production hiatus due to the viral outbreak and various supply chain issues. This resulted in record-low sales across the country. But for the month of October, these manufacturers show significantly improved sales numbers proving that the worst is over.
This insight is based on October performance reports shared by automakers like Honda and Toyota. Ford, which has been absent from monthly reporting, rejoined the group in an effort to give “investors more frequent updates on US sales and dealer inventory during the pandemic.”
For the Blue Oval, sales were down by 5.8% last month, but its Lincoln brand tallied a 2.8% increase in sales. The top sellers for the automaker were the Expedition and the Explorer, which comprised 9.4% of its sales.
Honda, on the other hand, reported a drop of 3.4% compared to the same period in 2019 despite having a positive month of sales for its Acura and several truck models. However, bigger vehicles, namely the Honda Pilot, Passport, and Ridgeline, helped effect growth for the Japanese brand. The Pilot, which is the most popular among the three models, recorded a 22.1% sales increase.
Toyota also saw an improvement of 8.8% for October 2020 with almost all of its divisions. The Toyota Tacoma, RAV4, and Highlander were listed as its highest-selling models.
Meanwhile, South Korean automakers Hyundai and Kia recorded improvements versus last year’s sales by 0.5% and 12.2%, respectively. Kia’s gains are mainly anchored on the success of the Telluride, but other models such as the Forte, Seltos, and K5 also performed well. Hyundai, on the other hand, has the Kona, Palisade, and Sonata to thank for.
Subaru joins the success parade by listing a 10.6% increase, marking the best-ever October sales for the automaker—all because of the impressive market performance of the Outback and Crosstrek.
Finally, Mazda relied mostly on sales of the CX-5 and CX-9 for a 12.2% increase of its own.
