USA February 2026: Acura (+17.3%), Lincoln (+12.2%) impress in negative market (-3.8%)

Lincoln Aviator sales are up 50.1% in February.

According to estimates by GlobalData, the U.S. new light vehicle market is down a painful -3.8% year-on-year in February to 1.18 million units. Retail sales are off 5.6% while fleet sales are up 4.5%. The reason behind this fall is multiple and include inclement weather, the end of federal tax credits for BEVs and affordability. Forecasts for the full year volume are now 16.1 to 16.2 million units vs. 16.3 million units over the Full Year 2025. The SAAR stands at 15.7 million, up from 14.9 million in January but down from 16.1 million in February 2025. BEV market share is around 5.6% for the month, which is in line with the average of 6% since October 2025 when tax incentives ended, to be compared with a rate of 8 to 12% before that date. The average retail transaction price is up 2.7% year-on-year to $46,303 units, while average incentives are up to $3,293. However EV incentives are down -13.8% to $10,356.

Among OEMs still reporting monthly, Hyundai-Kia (+5%), Toyota Motor (+3.2%) and American Honda (+1.1%) defy the negative market with YoY upticks but Ford Motor drops -5.5%. Brand-wise, the best performers are Acura (+17.3%) and Lincoln (+12.2%) with both Hyundai (+5.9%) and Kia (+4.3%) setting February records. Toyota (+3.3%), Genesis (+3.3%) and Lexus (+2.5%) are also up but Mazda (-0.1%) endures a 7th consecutive month of YoY decline, albeit by a tiny margin. As for models, the Ford Explorer (+33.4%), Toyota Tacoma (+33.2%), Subaru Forester (+24.9%), Toyota Corolla (+20%) and Camry (+19.3%) all post great gains among the best-sellers, while the Toyota RAV4 (-57.2%) suffers from its generation changeover and the Ford F-Series drops -16.2%.

Previous month: USA January 2026: Lexus (+14.8%), Kia (+13.1%) highlight shy market

One year ago: USA February 2025: Volvo (+40.1%), Genesis (+20.4%) excel in declining market

Full February 2026 data for OEMs, brands and models with available monthly figures below.