GM, Ford report best annual U.S. sales since 2019

DETROIT – Both General Motors and Ford Motor on Friday reported their best annual U.S. new vehicle sales since 2019, prior to impacts from the coronavirus pandemic and yearslong supply chain problems.

Those results are in line with industrywide expectations for automakers. Market research firms expected U.S. automakers to report total sales of nearly 16 million vehicles in 2024, which would mark the industry's best year since selling roughly 17 million units in 2019.

Several other automakers on Friday such as Toyota Motor, Hyundai Motor and Honda Motor reported single-digit annual sales increases, also largely in line with industry expectations.

GM remained the country's top-selling automaker, followed by Toyota and then Ford.

GM reported 2024 sales of more than 2.7 million vehicles, up 4.3% from a year earlier. The automaker sold 2.9 million units in 2019.

"The driving force for our business is new vehicles with great design and performance across our portfolio, helping our dealers satisfy more customers. We're carrying significant momentum into 2025," Rory Harvey, GM president of global markets, said in a release.

GM said sales were driven by increases in all four of its U.S. brands as well as a roughly 50% rise in sales of electric vehicles to more than 114,400 units.

Despite the notable jump in EV sales, the vehicles only made up 4.2% of the automaker's overall sales. GM estimated it achieved a 12% EV market share in the U.S. during the fourth quarter.

It was a similar trend at Ford, which reported a notable increase in sales of its "electrified" vehicles, including EVs and hybrids.

Ford on Friday reported 2024 sales of 2.08 million vehicles, up from just under 2 million in 2023. In 2019, the automaker sold 2.42 million