New vehicle sales in the United States saw a modest rise of 2.7% last year, thanks to a slight easing of prices and interest rates. This trend has made SUVs, cars, and trucks a bit more financially accessible for consumers.
Experts in the automotive industry suggest that as 2025 approaches, we can expect even better discounts, including rebates and low-interest financing. Particularly, dealerships linked to automakers that faced sales challenges in 2024 may offer the largest deals.
Last year, automakers sold just over 16 million vehicles in the U.S., according to Motorintelligence.com. While this figure marks the best sales performance since the pandemic began in 2019, average prices remained high, sitting at over $47,000—27% more than pre-pandemic levels.
Electric vehicle (EV) sales did see a notable uptick, increasing by 8.8% to nearly 1.3 million units sold, surpassing the previous year’s record of 1.19 million. However, this growth rate is significantly slower than the 47% rise observed in 2023. The future of EV sales could be uncertain, especially with the possibility of President-elect Donald Trump potentially eliminating the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles soon after taking office.
Gas-electric hybrids also gained traction, with sales hitting just over 1.6 million—an impressive 36% increase compared to 2023.
General Motors emerged as the top seller in the U.S., experiencing a 4.3% sales growth, the best it has seen since 2019. Toyota followed closely with a 3.7% bump in sales, and Ford also performed well with a 4.2% increase. Meanwhile, Stellantis, the maker of Jeep and Ram, faced challenges and saw a decline of 14.8% in sales, resulting in a drop from fourth to fifth place, overtaken by Honda, which experienced an 8.8% increase.
Other notable brands included Nissan with a 2.8% increase, Hyundai up by 4.8%, and Kia with a 1.8% rise in sales.
Throughout the year, the average sales price of vehicles dipped slightly—less than 1%. Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds.com, anticipates that this trend will persist, particularly in the latter half of the year.
Moreover, the Federal Reserve is expected to introduce two more interest rate cuts this year, following three cuts in 2024, which could ease monthly payment amounts. The average auto loan interest rate has already decreased from a peak of 7.3% in July to 6.6% by December, according to Drury.
He advises potential buyers to consider holding off on purchases for the first three months of the year, as automakers seek to clear out 2024 models. “If you can wait six months or more, it might be worth it,” he suggested. “The future holds the potential for even better deals.”
Buyers looking for good bargains may need to explore brands like Stellantis and Ford, which currently have more inventory available compared to Honda and Toyota. Even Toyota, which has one of the lowest inventories in the industry—enough to only cover five days of sales—expects to roll out increased discounts as their supply begins to stabilize.
David Christ, vice president of Toyota North America, said, “Expectations for incentive spending will rise next year for both the industry and for us, as more vehicles become available.”
