We finally got all the sales results from October in from the car companies that still report sales monthly. Among those, sales showed a strong 12% increase from October 2023. I was a bit nervous on how things would shake out given that October isn’t typically one of the better months of the year, especially in a year that October has a Presidential election looming. People get distracted, and depending on which way they are leaning, they tend to put off major purchases. High interest rates are not a friend to the auto industry, either.
Still, strong incentives and overstocked dealerships prevailed. If the rest of the automakers had reported, I believe that the increase would have been north of 15% and there is reason for the car companies and dealers to be optimistic. The sales results for October were good news for consumers as well with the best incentives we’ve seen in years, and the dealers going deeper into discounts. The average factory incentive was almost $3,200 per vehicle last month. The used market continues to be robust, helping enable people to trade vehicles.
Our friend Randy Parker, the CEO of Hyundai Motor America was quoted in Automotive News echoing the challenges of an election year: “We’re still very bullish on the market. We’ve definitely seen a little softness.” He went on to say he believes Hyundai will be able to set another annual sales record by the end of the year. “We feel pretty good about the market going forward. And, you know, we’ll get through the election and everything else, and we’ll get back to selling cars.”
Mazda led the gainers for October, up almost 60% from a year ago on the strength of some exciting new SUVs. Volvo was down the most at 17%, and to be honest, I’m not sure why-other than it went really heavy and fast into electric vehicles, and as we know, demand for EVs is waning in America.
October 2024 U.S. Auto Sales
Here are the October sales results for October 2024 versus October 2023, and the percentage each brand was up or down:
Manufacturer |
Oct. 2024 |
vs Oct. 2023 |
1. Ford |
171,672 |
15% |
2. Toyota |
159,370 |
6% |
3. Honda |
99,499 |
3% |
4. Hyundai |
71,802 |
18% |
5. Kia |
68,908 |
17% |
6. Subaru |
54,552 |
2% |
7. Mazda |
37,307 |
59% |
8. Lexus |
26,559 |
2% |
9. Acura |
10,847 |
3% |
10. Volvo |
9,360 |
17% |
11. Lincoln |
9,349 |
36% |
12. Genesis |
6,903 |
21% |
- Ford: 171,672 Up 15%
- Toyota: 159,370 Down 6%
- Honda: 99,499 Up 3%
- Hyundai: 71,802 Up 18%
- Kia: 68,908 Up 17%
- Subaru: 54,552 Up 2%
- Mazda: 37,307 Up 59%
- Lexus: 26,559 Down 2%
- Acura: 10,847 Down 3%
- Volvo: 9,360 Down 17%
- Lincoln: 9,349 Up 36%
- Genesis: 6,903 Up 21%
Photo Credit: Andy Dean Photography/Shutterstock.com
