USA May 2024: Toyota (+15.7%), Lexus (+17.3%), Lincoln (+28%) stand out in shy market

Toyota Tundra sales are up 44.9% year-on-year in May.

The U.S. new light vehicle market gains 5% year-on-year in May to 1,444,543 units, leading to a year-to-date tally up 3.5% to 6,548,694. Passenger cars are down -3.4% to 288,634 and 20% share whereas light trucks are up 7.3% to 1,155,904 and 80% share. The SAAR comes in at 16.08 million units vs. 15.6 million in May 2023. Among groups still sharing monthly data, Toyota Motor fares best at +15.7% followed by Ford Motor (+11.4%) and Hyundai-Kia (+8.5%) and American Honda (+6.4%). Toyota (+15.4%) heads the brands ranking 4,000 units above Ford (+10.8%), with Honda (+8.2%) and Hyundai (+12.1%) in tow. Lincoln (+28%) and Lexus (+17.3%) also outpace the market whereas Acura (-7%) and Volvo (-5.3%) disappoint.

The Ford F-Series (-1.6%) is soft and falls below the 70,000 monthly sales mark. In contrast both the Toyota RAV4 (+26.7%) and Honda CR-V (+11%) are in great shape. The Honda Civic (+48.9%) and Toyota Corolla (+22.7%) catch up for lost time and leave the Honda Accord (-31.1%) in the dust. Other great performers include the Ford Maverick (+95.5%), Honda HR-V (+47.5%), Subaru Forester (+45%), Toyota Tundra (+44.9%), Ford Transit (+40.6%), Subaru Crosstrek (+32.3%) and Kia Sportage (+20.6%). 

Previous month: USA April 2024: Toyota, Lincoln impress in negative market

One year ago: USA May 2023: Mazda, Acura, Ford F-Series shine in recovering market

Full May 2024 data for selected groups, brands and models below.