Losing at Home

In 1955, almost 19 of every 20 new vehicles sold in America came from General Motors, Ford or Chrysler. This summer, it was closer to 1 in 3.

Third-quarter sales, reported October 1 and 2, put the Detroit 3 at what Cox Automotive forecast would be "just over 36%" of the market, "the lowest level on record." Asian automakers took more than half for the second quarter in a row. Cox's senior economist, Charlie Chesbrough, said the Detroit share would be lower "than even the inventory constrained summer of 2021," when chip shortages emptied dealer lots.

The quarter, maker by maker

GM is still No. 1, but its lead is narrowing. Ford held No. 3 by a margin smaller than a single day's sales.

Company figures. Hyundai and Kia both reported their best third quarter ever. On a light-vehicle basis, CNBC put Ford ahead of Hyundai Motor Group by 1,195. Sources: GM, Toyota, Ford, Hyundai, Honda and Stellantis via their October releases and CNBC.

Hyundai Motor Group had already passed Ford in July and again in August, by 14,042 vehicles, with a record 12.9% share, according to Korea's Seoul Economic Daily. A strong September is what kept Ford ahead for the quarter.

How the share fell

The decline is old. The speed is new. Imports first passed 10% of the market in 1959, crossed 25% in 1980, and the Detroit 3 slipped below half for a single month in July 2007 and for a full year in 2008.

The crown has changed hands before, too. In 2021 Toyota outsold GM in America for the full year, 2.332 million to 2.218 million, the first time since 1931 that GM wasn't No. 1. GM took it back in 2022 and has held it since.

Why it's happening now

Hybrids. Asked why Asian brands were gaining, Cox executive analyst Erin Keating told Reuters: "Most importantly, they have the hybrids." 57.4% of Toyota's third-quarter sales were electrified. Honda had a record hybrid quarter of more than 106,000. Hyundai Motor Group sold 138,112 hybrids, up 53.4%. Reuters reported that GM dealers point to the lack of hybrids in their showrooms.

Gas. Regular gasoline averaged $4.33 in September, according to AAA, a record for the month by 50 cents. That pushes buyers toward efficiency, and toward the brands that have it in the body styles people want.

The electric pullback. The federal EV tax credit ended on September 30, 2025, and a year later GM's electric sales are down about 62%. The Chevrolet Equinox EV sold 1,905, down 92.4%. GM bet on EVs rather than hybrids, and the hybrids its rivals sell have filled the gap.

Cars and price. The average new vehicle cost $50,090 in August, Cox said, the highest for any August, and J.D. Power estimated the average monthly payment hit $821 in September, a record for the month. "Right now, it's high-end consumers buying expensive pickup trucks," Sam Fiorani of AutoForecast Solutions told Bloomberg. "We've lost the people making less than $100,000 a year." Many of those buyers are now looking at sedans, which Detroit has mostly stopped building, and at small hybrids. Hyundai's American chief, Randy Parker, put it bluntly to Bloomberg: "Thank God we never gave up on passenger cars." Honda's Lance Woelfer said some buyers "who may not have considered a sedan before are now looking at them, maybe due to gas prices."

Gaps in the lineup. Ford's Andrew Frick said Ford "continued to gain retail share adjusted for the planned sunset of Escape and Corsair," its small crossovers. Adjusted is the key word: without those models, Ford has less to sell in one of the biggest segments.

Where Detroit is winning

The trucks. Ram's sales rose 29% in the quarter, and Ram 1500 sales jumped 73%, to 76,650. Chevrolet Silverado sales rose 13%. Those are among the most profitable vehicles sold in America, which is why a falling market share doesn't translate directly into falling profits.

But a lineup built around pickups and large SUVs is exposed when gas is expensive and buyers are stretched, and Jeep shows the other side: its sales fell 20%.

Where "foreign" cars are made

"Asian" and "Detroit" describe who owns the company, not where the car is built. Toyota says about 55% of the vehicles it sells in America are built in America, and about 85% in North America. Nikkei reported last year that roughly 60% of Honda's US sales are built in US plants. Hyundai's chief executive, José Muñoz, said in April that about half of Hyundai's US sales are built locally.

That share is rising. This week Hyundai announced a $500 million investment in its Montgomery, Alabama, plant to move Tucson Hybrid production there from Ulsan, South Korea, and to build a Santa Fe extended-range electric model from the first half of 2027. A Tucson Hybrid imported from Korea pays a 15% tariff; one built in Alabama doesn't.

The home team is still winning the most profitable game. It's losing almost everywhere else.

What to watch

GM finished the quarter with a 37,751-vehicle lead over Toyota. Hyundai Motor Group came within about 1,200 vehicles of Ford. Both gaps are small enough to change in a single month.

The record-low number is a forecast until Cox publishes its final tally. The direction isn't in doubt.