Dealers are still struggling to put butts in seats as 2025 winds to a close. Of the few automakers who still report their sales on a monthly basis, only a couple had anything approaching good news to share. Between rising prices and an increasingly uncertain economic climate, 2025 is on course to exit with a whimper, rather than a bang.
Earlier this year, automakers offset the early stages of a sales slump by heading off tariffs with incentive programs intended to keep sticker prices in check. Both Ford and Stellantis resurrected their employee pricing programs to offset rising costs, and the latter is also leaning on both price cuts and additional incentives to help move metal. But after flocking to dealerships to take advantage of EV and PHEV tax credits that were discontinued in September, car buyers have been fewer and much farther between in October and November.
Let’s start with the good news:
Now, the not-so-good.
We’re not expecting any additional November figures at this point; the other automakers reserve their reporting for quarterly releases. Check back here the first week of January for a recap of 2025 sales industry-wide.
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Byron is an editor at The Drive with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.
