Top 10 Best-Selling Car Brands in 2025

U.S. vehicle sales rose 2.4% in 2025, marking the industry's strongest year since 2019.

Automakers had a surprisingly good year considering everything working against them. Rising sticker prices, high interest rates, and tariffs on imported cars and parts should have tanked sales. It didn't happen. The White House even touted the increase last Tuesday as proof its tariffs haven't made cars more expensive.

Here are the top 10 best-selling auto brands based on full-year 2025 figures.

1. General Motors

GM sold 2,850,000 vehicles in 2025. Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups did the heavy lifting.

The company said it's "America's full-size pickup leader for the 6th straight year" with the Silverado and Sierra recording their best combined sales in 20 years. They also led the full-size SUV market for the 51st consecutive year. That's just a ridiculous streak.

GM was also the industry's #2 EV seller despite trucks and SUVs being their thing.

2. Ford

Ford sold 2,147,811 vehicles. F-Series was the best seller, as it has been forever.

Market share increased 0.6 percentage points for the year, hitting 13.2%. Ford reported its best quarter and yearly U.S. sales since 2019. Not bad considering how rough the past few years have been.

3. Toyota

Toyota also sold 2,147,811 vehicles, the same exact number as Ford. It seems weird but that's what the data shows. RAV4 was the best seller.

Andrew Gilleland, senior vice president at Toyota Motor North America, credited their "deep commitment to affordability and choice." Translation: people wanted reliable vehicles that don't break the bank.

4. Tesla

Tesla sold 1,636,129 vehicles. Model Y was the best seller.

Fourth quarter alone saw Tesla produce over 434,000 vehicles and deliver over 418,000. Tesla being the only pure EV manufacturer in the top five shows how far electric vehicles have come, even though they're still a small fraction of total sales.

5. Honda

Honda sold 1,430,57 vehicles. CR-V was the best seller.

This was the best year since 2021 despite a microchip shortage that caused leaner inventories in the fourth quarter. They managed a 0.5% increase even with fewer cars on dealer lots.

6. Stellantis

Stellantis sold 1,260,344 vehicles. Ram 1500, a light duty pickup, was the best seller.

Jeff Kommor, head of U.S. retail sales, said consecutive quarterly sales increases show "we are taking the right steps to reset our business in the U.S." The company's been struggling, so any positive momentum matters. Five new models are hitting showrooms in 2026.

7. Nissan

Nissan sold 926,153 vehicles. Rogue was the best seller.

Kicks and Pathfinder SUVs had standout performances with sales up 33.9% and 25.6% respectively. Mike Soutter, senior vice president at Nissan Americas, said "trucks and SUVs were the clear growth engine for Nissan."

Nissan's also dealing with financial troubles and restructuring, so these numbers represent a bright spot.

8. Hyundai

Hyundai sold 901,686 vehicles. Tucson was the best seller.

This is the fifth straight year of record retail sales. Randy Parker, president and CEO at Hyundai Motor North America, called it their "5 for 5 in 2025 mission." It’s corporate branding that sounds silly but hey, they hit their goal.

9. Kia

Kia sold 852,155 vehicles. Sportage was the best seller.

Retail sales have grown for eight consecutive years, hitting an all-time high for the sixth year running. They achieved their highest-ever U.S. market share too.

Kia and Hyundai both continuing their climb shows Korean manufacturers have come a long way from their budget-brand reputation.

10. Volkswagen

Volkswagen sold 329,813 vehicles. Tiguan was the best seller.

Fourth quarter sales decreased 19.8% compared to Q4 2024. Closed the year down 13% from 2024. VW barely held tenth spot and could easily slip out next year.

What It Comes Down To

Trucks and SUVs dominated across the board. It doesn't matter if you're domestic or foreign, pickups and SUVs are what Americans bought.

GM and Ford battled at the top with their trucks. These two have owned the full-size pickup market for decades. Toyota tying Ford is impressive for a foreign brand competing in the truck-heavy U.S. market.

Tesla cracked the top five as the only pure EV manufacturer. This shows electric vehicles have gone mainstream even though they're still a small slice of total sales. Hyundai and Kia both making the top 10 represents a major shift. Volkswagen's 13% drop is concerning.

The 2.4% industry increase doesn't sound dramatic, but it's the strongest performance since 2019.

Microchip shortage affected multiple manufacturers throughout 2025. Leaner inventories meant fewer cars on lots, which probably kept prices elevated since demand outpaced supply.

Whether 2026 matches 2025 depends on economic conditions, interest rates, and how hard manufacturers push into EVs. For now though, the auto industry had a solid year after several rough ones.

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