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Want to know the current state of the automotive industry in the US? Here are the latest stats on the US car market, including sales volume, best-selling brands, average transaction price, and more.

Let’s dive right in.

Key Findings

  • Around 13.74 million cars and light trucks were sold in the US in 2022.
  • US auto sales volume reached 2.13 million units in January-February 2023, with a forecasted 14.8 million in 2023.
  • The US car buyer pays an average of $49,468 for a new car.
  • Trucks accounted for 79.24% of all auto sales in the US in early 2023.
  • Electric vehicles reached 8% of all new vehicles sold in the US in January 2023.
  • 762,883 fully electric vehicles were sold in the US in 2022.

New Car Sales

According to S&P Global Mobility, US light vehicle sales volume from January 2023 to February 2023 reached 2.13 million units. Industry forecasts suggest a range from 14.1 million to 15 million vehicles in 2023 US auto sales[1].

US auto sales volume in 2022 hit 13.74 million units, the lowest since 2012, with sales constrained by rising prices and high interest rates[2].

Note: The table above contains data for passenger cars and light trucks from multiple sources and may not be comparable between some years due to differences in methodology. Sales volume may contain leases. Data for 2023 are forecasts.

Based on Motor Intelligence estimates, Ford (289,480 units), Toyota (252,281), and Chevrolet (239,191) led the ranking of most popular car brands by sales in the US in early 2023 (from January to February)[3]. 

When broken down by category, light truck sales dominated auto sales in the US, accounting for a 79.24% share in January – February 2023.

🛻 Here’s the full auto sales ranking by brand in the US in 2023 (January – February):

Brand Car sales volume Truck sales volume All, Jan – Feb 2023
Ford 8,981 280,499 289,480
Toyota 76,258 176,023 252,281
Chevrolet 29,782 209,409 239,191
Honda 54,371 93,494 147,865
Nissan 34,483 88,660 123,143
Tesla 45,680 68,520 114,200
Kia 32,806 80,036 112,842
Hyundai 28,238 80,807 109,045
Jeep 0 98,013 98,013
Subaru 32,663 57,500 90,163
GMC 0 84,504 84,504
Ram 0 80,598 80,598
Mazda 5,930 47,676 53,606
Mercedes-Benz 15,520 34,664 50,184
BMW 20,033 27,906 47,939
Volkswagen 3,742 38,829 42,571
Lexus 9,147 32,446 41,593
Audi 12,042 21,564 33,606
Dodge 20,548 9,693 30,241
Buick 0 22,963 22,963
Cadillac 4,843 17,149 21,992
Acura 6,811 13,085 19,896
Chrysler 1713 16,264 17,977
Volvo 1160 15,093 16,253
Porsche 4,496 9,775 14,271
Mitsubishi 2,293 10,554 12,847
Lincoln 0 11,967 11,967
Land Rover 0 11,746 11,746
Infiniti 932 8,569 9,501
Genesis 2,202 5,911 8,113
Rivian 0 5,139 5,139
MINI 2,688 1523 4,211
Polestar 2,025 0 2,025
Jaguar 221 1360 1581
Alfa Romeo 569 838 1407
Maserati 249 933 1182
Lucid 848 0 848
Bentley 351 264 615
Ferrari 439 0 439
Lamborghini 157 247 404
Rolls Royce 108 121 229
Fiat 2 70 72
Karma 6 0 6
Total 462,337 1,764,412 2,226,749

Based on complete 2022 sales data, the same 3 leading car makers (Ford, Toyota, Chevrolet) topped the ranking of most popular car brands in the US with 5.03 million sold units across 3 brands in the US alone[4].

A total of 12 car brands (incl. Honda, Hyundai, Jeep, Nissan, among others) hit a milestone of over a half million sold units each in 2022 in the US[5].

Best-Selling Cars

Trucks by Ford (653,957 units), Chevrolet (513,354), and Ram (468,344) took 3 top places among best-selling car models in the US in 2022[6].

A total of 14 cars sold over 200,000 units each in 2022.

Here’s a complete list of best-selling cars in the US based on 2022 data:

Average Price of a New Vehicle Sold

According to Kelley Blue Book, $48,763 was the average transaction price for a new vehicle across all segments in the US in February 2023, a slight decrease from $49,468 in January 2023[7].

When considering only the non-luxury vehicles category, the car buyer in the US paid $44,697 for a new vehicle in the US in February 2023; among luxury buyers, that was $65,534 in the same month. Nearly 2-in-10 (19.5%) vehicles sold in the US in February 2023 accounted for the luxury segment.

The average transaction price for a new electric vehicle sold in the US reached $58,385 in February 2023[8].

EV Sales Volume

Based on CleanTechnica estimates, 762,883 units of battery electric vehicles were sold in the US in 2022, accounting for 5.7% of all auto sales in the country[9]. 

Sales of fully electric vehicles in the US in 2022 increased by 3.1x over 2020. Based on S&P Global estimates, battery electric vehicles reached 8% market share in the US in January-February 2023[1].

The electric vehicle market in the US is dominated by Tesla (with Model Y and Model 3 as its top two best-selling cars), with a 66.86% market share among electric vehicles sold in the US in 2022, accounting for 510,058 units[9]. 

The most popular non-Tesla EV models were the Ford Mustang Mach-E (39,458 units sold) and the Chevy Bolt (38,120 units sold).Â