US new-car sales in 2024 continued to rise from their pandemic lows, bolstered by replenished inventories, higher incentives and surging demand for hybrid vehicles, automakers reported on Friday.
Sales are expected to near 16 million vehicles, the highest level since 2019, with General Motors GM.N defending its 2023 sales crown. Automakers are projecting strong results to continue into 2025, although President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed automotive policies, such as removing tax credits for EVs, present a wild card.
“We’re carrying significant momentum into 2025,” Rory Harvey, GM’s head of global markets, said in a release. The Detroit automaker sold 2.7 million vehicles last year, the company said on Friday, up 4.3% from 2023.
Most automakers recorded solid sales results last year, as they adjusted to slowing demand for EVs and relied on their core business of gasoline-powered trucks and SUVs, while some capitalized on soaring consumer interest in hybrid vehicles.
Toyota notched a 3.7% sales gain year-over-year in the US, boosted by steady increases of reliable smaller vehicles such as the Camry and RAV4 SUV, as well as significant gains for hybrid vehicles. Reuters reported last year that the automaker is potentially converting all of its lineup into hybrid-only models.
“For hybrids, we’re sold out – customers want them, we can’t get enough of them,” said David Christ, head of sales and marketing for Toyota in North America. “Battery electric vehicles, even with the huge incentives we’re spending and the federal government’s incentives, are just not as in demand.”
Ford Motor F.N also benefited from an increase in hybrid sales, which helped the automaker’s total vehicle sales rise 4.2% in 2024. The Dearborn, Michigan, company sold roughly double the number of hybrids compared with its EVs, with 187,426 hybrids sold and 97,865 EVs.
