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2026 (Q3) USA: Top Light Vehicle and Car Manufacturers and Brands

USA · October 3, 2026 · Henk Bekker

In the first three quarters of 2026 (Q1 + Q2 + Q3), GM, Toyota, and Ford were the top light vehicle manufacturers in the USA, with Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet, and Honda the top-selling car brands.

Toyota C-HR Toyota Best Selling Car Brand in the USA in 2026 Q3
Toyota Best Selling Car Brand in the USA in 2026 (Q1 – Q3) © Toyota

2026 (January to September): the US market for light vehicles, including passenger cars, SUVs, trucks, and vans, contracted by around 2% to just over 12 million vehicle sales in the USA. The largest light vehicle manufacturing groups in the US in 2026 (Q1 + Q2 +Q3) were GM, Toyota, Ford, Honda, and the FCA (Stellantis) groups. The best-selling car brands were Toyota, Ford, Chevrolet, and Honda.

  • The top-selling models in the USA in 2026 (Q1 + Q2 + Q3): the Ford F-Series was the top-selling vehicle model, but the Honda CR-V again outsold the Toyota RAV4 as the best-selling SUV, while the Camry remained America’s favorite sedan passenger car model. 

Largest Light Vehicle and Car Manufacturing Groups in the USA in 2026 (Q1 +Q2 + Q3)

The ten largest light vehicle car manufacturing conglomerates in the USA in the first nine months of 2026 (Q1 + Q2 + Q3) were as follows:

RManufacturer
2026 (Q1-Q3)
2025 (Q1-Q3)		% Δ Q1-Q3Sales Q3/2026Sales Q2/2026Sales Q1/2026
1GM2,012,2992,150,298-6.4670,974714,896626,429
2Toyota1,876,6141,865,8760.6633,223673,971569,420
3Ford1,516,2791,658,908-8.6509,764549,200457,315
4American Honda1,149,2611,097,9994.7392,261420,089336,830
5Stellantis (FCA)958,463928,0233.0324,277328,284305,902
6Nissan716,283711,9030.6226,474242,741247,068
7Hyundai697,464678,3493.0246,896245,180205,388
8Kia667,386636,1484.9236,659223,712207,015
9Subaru475,878483,037-1.5168,538165,396141,944
10Tesla*365,980451,160-18.9123,880124,800117,300
11Mazda310,268319,664-2.1108,434107,36294,472

NOTE: Data as published by manufacturers and tabulated just for general information and fun. Definitions of sales, deliveries, etc., may differ widely. E.g., what is included in sales here might be deliveries rather than actual final sales to consumers or registrations. *Tesla, estimate (Cox).

GM remained the largest vehicle producer in the USA during the first three quarters of 2026, but sales were over 6% weaker than during the first nine months of 2025. Third-placed Ford had sales down by almost 9%.

Sales of second-placed Toyota were flat but Toyota remained the largest automotive brand in the USA in the first three quarters of 2026. American Honda and Kia improved sales by almost 5%. Stellantis (FCA) and Hyundai increased sales by 3% in the US thus far in 2026.

Tesla seemed to struggle with sales down almost a fifth.

Top-Selling Car Brands in the USA in 2026 (Q1 + Q2 + Q3)

The top-selling light vehicle car brands in the USA in the first three quarters of 2026 (Q1 + Q2 + Q3) were:

RBrand2026 (Q1-Q3)2025 (Q1-Q3)% Δ Q1-Q3Sales Q3/2026Sales Q2/2026Sales Q1/2026
1Toyota1,613,8461,595,3011.2540,167585,211488,468
2Ford1,446,7921,580,085-8.4490,276522,811433,705
3Chevrolet1,304,7461,380,075-5.5437,321459,678407,747
4Honda1,045,593998,7164.7358,388382,727304,478
5Hyundai697,464678,3493.0246,896245,180205,388
6Nissan675,396673,2600.3210,635230,443234,318
7Kia667,386636,1484.9236,659223,712207,015
8Subaru475,878483,037-1.5168,538165,396141,944
9GMC472,259480,759-1.8157,103169,226145,930
10Jeep413,793449,973-8.0128,542140,699144,552

NOTE: Data as published by manufacturers and tabulated just for general information and fun. Definitions of sales, deliveries, etc., may differ widely. *Tesla, estimate only (Cox).

Best-Selling Car Brands in the USA in 2026 (Q1 + Q2 + Q3)

Toyota easily maintained its position as the top-selling car brand in the USA in the first nine months of 2026. Year-to-date 2026, Toyota sales were up by just over a percentage point while both Ford and Chevrolet lost market share with lower sales volumes.

The larger Asian brands performed fairly well in the USA thus far in 2026. Toyota remained the market leader while Honda strengthened its grip on fourth place. The Honda CRV was the top-selling SUV thus far in 2026. If the commercial versions of the F-Series and Silverado are discounted, the Honda CR-V was the best-selling passenger car in the USA thus far in 2026.

Nissan sales improved slightly. Hyundai and Kia improved sales by more than 3%. GMC, Subaru, and Jeep all reported weaker sales in the USA.

  • The top-selling models in the USA in 2026 (Q1 + Q2 + Q3): the Ford F-Series was the top-selling vehicle model, but the Honda CR-V again outsold the Toyota RAV4 as the best-selling SUV, while the Camry remained America’s favorite sedan passenger car model. 

Car Sales in the USA in 2025 (Full Year) & 2026 (Q3)

Light Vehicle Sales in the USA in 2026

Light Vehicle Sales in North America in 2025

Car Sales by Brand in the USA in 2025 (Full Year):

NOTE: “Sales” as reported by the various brands generally refer to deliveries and not necessarily sales to the customer or final registration. Terms and definitions may vary. All statistics are provided by respective car manufacturers unless clearly marked otherwise.

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