Toyota gains on GM in U.S. sales as hybrids grow, EVs stall
A Toyota Tundra at the New York International Auto Show in New York City on April 2, 2026.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
DETROIT – Toyota Motor particularly outperforms America’s largest automaker, General Engines, in US sales as hybrids become more popular and all-electric vehicles become extinct.
The Japanese automaker is expected to see a nearly 1% increase in U.S. sales to 1.25 million vehicles in the first half of this year, while GM is expected to decline 7.2% to 1.33 million, according to a new forecast released Wednesday by Cox Automotive.
“With these rates and what we’re seeing in sales rates right now, GM may be thinking that by the end of the year, Toyota could potentially overtake them as the best-selling manufacturer in the U.S. market,” Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist and senior director of industry insights at Cox Automotive, said during a media event.
Chesbrough said he doesn’t yet predict Toyota will overtake GM, but the trends are “worrying for General Motors.”
The expected 83,255 gap in vehicle sales in the first half of the year would be the narrowest gap between the two automakers since Toyota surpassed GM in U.S. sales for the first time in 2021. This was partly the result of supply chain issues during the coronavirus outbreak.
At the time, Toyota chairman and company scion Akio Toyoda said he did a “happy dance” when he learned of the victory, but executives said the company did not expect it to be sustainable. According to industry data, GM has been the best-selling automaker in the U.S. outside of that year since 1931.
Toyota’s gains come as the automaker continues to roll out new models, including all-electric vehicles, and double down on hybrids, where it has been a leader for decades.
GM, meanwhile, has invested heavily in all-electric vehicles rather than hybrids, often referring to them as a transitional technology. The Detroit automaker’s only hybrid is the Corvette, and the luxury brand offers a full EV lineup for Cadillac as well as many models for other brands.
“The story is that hybrids are having their moment,” Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Cox’s director of industry insights, said during the event Wednesday.
Cox expects overall new vehicle sales in the U.S. to decline 3% in the first half of the year compared to last year; This includes a 0.5% decline in the second quarter.
The company predicts that EV sales will decline by 23.3% in the first half of this year. Meanwhile, hybrid sales are expected to increase by approximately 10%.
honda, Volkswagen and Stellantis While Cox is forecasting the biggest sales declines in the second quarter, it is expected to post sales gains in the second quarter. Tesla, Ford Motor and G.M.
