New Car Sales Have September to Remember But Decline Slightly in Q3
It took a strong September for U.S. dealers to avoid a weak third quarter, according to the latest reports compiled by the Automotive News Data Center, as sales of new cars and light trucks improved by 5.5% from September 2025 but declined by 0.4% compared with the year-ago quarter.
The majority of reporting factories enjoyed single-digit gains in Q3, led by Honda (9.3%), Subaru (4.5%) and Hyundai (3.5%). General Motors reported a 5.4% decrease, due in part to a 30% drop at its Cadillac division; sales also fell at Mitsubishi (-5.6%), Mazda (-0.9%) and Stellantis (-0.3%).
Remarkably, Mazda led all factories with a 31.9% year-over-year improvement in September, followed by Honda (15.9%) and Subaru (13.1%).
Citing JD Power and GlobalData, AN’s John Phillips says incentives, discounts and zero percent financing contributed to a strong finish to the quarter.
“The U.S. light-vehicle market has weakened from 2025, when volume rose 2.2 percent to 16.4 million, behind a sharp decline in electric-vehicle deliveries and other economic headwinds, though analysts and automakers agree it has proved more resilient than expected,” Phillips writes.
