Auto Sales Up in July – But Show Signs of Slowdown as Tariffs Hit, Unemployment Climbs.

Automakers, especially Asian brands,  posted healthy sales for July. But the pace is expected to slow as the economy turns sluggish from Trump’s tariffs and as unemployment begins to climb.

Despite sign the U.S. economy is beginning to slow under the weight of Trump’s tariffs, South Korean automakers chalked up the best sales ever in July aided by strong sales of their electric vehicles.

Hyundai, Kia and Genesis all reported record sales for the month boosted by robust demand for hybrids like the Kia K5 and all-electric models such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Led by Toyota, Japanese automakers also posted sales gains for July as buyers continued to jump i

nto the market ahead of the tariffs, which the Trump administration this week announced would be 15% on vehicles imported from South Korea and Japan. That could add $5,000 or more to the MSRP of many imported Asian products. Meanwhile, the looming end of the EV tax credit in September also appears to have spurred some buyers.

Hyundai posts big increase

Hyundai reported the brand’s sales increased by 15% in July, with demand for electrified sales models surging 50%. It racked up record sales of Ioniq 5 EV and the Elantra HEV.

“Hyundai delivered an outstanding July, setting an all-time July total sales record with 79,543 units, up 15% year-over-year,” said Randy Parker, president and CEO of Hyundai Motor North America. “We achieved new records across multiple nameplates, including Elantra HEV, Elantra N, Santa Fe HEV, Palisade, IONIQ 5, and the Santa Fe family, while electrified vehicle sales surged 50% compared to last year,” Parker said.

Hyundai’s retail sales climbed 18%, highlighted by strong demand for Santa Fe and Palisade, and a 71% jump in IONIQ 5 retail sales. These results reflect Hyundai’s momentum in sustainable mobility and our ability to deliver an innovative lineup that continues to resonate with customers.

Kia sales along

Kia America posted record sales of 71,123 units in July, a 12% increase over the same period last year, with electrified and SUV models achieving double digit sales growth.

The newly launched 2026 EV9 recorded strong performance in July with 1,737 units sold – marking a 90l% increase compared to the previous month. Other electric models such as the EV6 and Niro EV also maintained strong momentum, driving growth across Kia’s entire electrified lineup.

“Kia is steadily progressing toward its highest annual sales record and an all-time high market share, fueled by record-breaking consumer sales growth,” said Eric Watson, vice-president, sales operations, Kia America. “As our SUV lineup maintains double-digit growth month after month, we recently rolled out a new ad campaign for the 2026 Sportage,” he said.

Genesis, the South Korean luxury brands, also reported sales increased by 8% in July 6,687.

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Toyota post big gains in sales

Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) reported July 2025 U.S. sales of 218,022 vehicles, up 19.9% on a volume basis. Toyota Division sales for the month totaled 186,570 vehicles, up 21.9% on a volume basis.  Lexus Division sales for the month totaled 31,452 vehicles, up 9.0% on a volume basis.

TMNA’s July 2025 U.S. electrified sales totaled 94,658 vehicles, up 14.5% on a volume basis representing 43.4% of total sales volume for the month. Year-to-date electrified sales totaled 704,272, up 31.2% on a volume basis representing 48.4% of total sales, the company reported.

Honda brand sales totaled 110,927 in July up 1.3% for the month, maintaining strong momentum with passenger cars, light trucks and electrified models posting strong sales across the lineup.

Led by record July sales of the all-new Passport, Honda light truck July sales posted a record July and sixth straight month over 70,000 units. Honda passenger car sales again topped 30,000 units, led by Civic with 19,044 units and Civic hybrid posting a best-ever 41% of model mix, Honda electrified vehicles set an all-time July record with 38,050 units

Acura brand sales totaled 10,090 units in July, as they dropped by 9.8%.

Subaru of America, Inc. reported 54,035 vehicle sales for July 2025, an increase of 4.5 percent compared with July 2024.

Ford on track

Ford Motor Co. reported a good end to the first half of the year and carried that momentum into July.

Ford sold 189,313 vehicles in July, an increase of 9.3% from a year ago and up 7% so far this year.

Ford said the increase was led by an 11.8% jump in hybrid sales, which helped offset a 0.2% drop in the company’s sale of fully electric vehicles. This resulted in a 7.9% gain in sales for “electrified vehicles.”

Ford has struggled to maintain pace in the EV market and plans to reveal its progress in developing a new range of “affordable” models at a news conference led by CEO Jim Farley on August 11.

Both General Motors and Stellantis release their sales on a quarterly basis.

Tough sledding ahead

Cox reported earlier this week that it expects the overall pace of new vehicle sales to slow through the second half of the year.

Job creation, a usually reliable indicator of future sales since workers need vehicles to get to their jobs, has weakened, according to new data from the U.S. Department of Labor as Trump’s tariff threats created uncertainty for businesses both large and small.

The U.S. hiring picture slowed sharply in July as employers added just 73,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, well short of the 115,000 expected.

Revisions to DOL data shaved 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls, and the unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.2% as Americans dropped out of the labor force and the ranks of the unemployed rose by 221,000.