The National Automobile Dealers Association calculated the seasonally adjusted annual rate of U.S. new vehicle sales at 15.6 million units in January, up 3.8% year-over-year, at the end of a month in which several factories registered double-digit sales gains.

The SAAR ticked up for the fifth straight month on a prior-year basis but fell more than 1 million units from December 2024 (16.9 million).

“However, January is typically the slowest month for sales of the year and we believe there were significant sales pulled forward into December 2024 due to consumer uncertainty surrounding the availability of EV tax credits and potential impacts to vehicle pricing due to tariffs,” notes NADA Chief Economist Patrick Manzi in a release accompanying the report.

Hybrid vehicles (11.8%) and EVs (8.5%) gained market share while sales of plug-in hybrids fell to 1.9% of the total. Gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles accounted for 77.8% of all sales in January.

Citing J.D. Power data, the report states average incentive spending increased 29.3% year-over-year to $3,226 per vehicle, down by just over $100 from December.

“OEM incentives helped to grow sales throughout 2024 and we expect that trend to continue in 2025,” Manzi writes.

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