U.S. Car Buyers Side With GM as Year-End Numbers Tell the Story

General Motors is wrapping up 2025 with solid gains in the U.S. auto market. According to forecasts from Cox Automotive, the company is set to remain the country’s largest automaker for the fourth year in a row. GM’s market share is expected to climb to 17.3%, up from 16.8% a year earlier, while total vehicle sales are projected to top 2.8 million units—an annual increase of more than 5%.

Overall, the U.S. new-vehicle market is expected to reach about 16.3 million sales by the end of 2025, analysts say. That would mark a 1.8% improvement over 2024 and represent the strongest result since 2019. At the same time, December sales are likely to come in below last year’s level, with overall market momentum beginning to cool as the industry heads toward 2026.

Cox Automotive points to heightened market volatility driven by economic uncertainty and shifts in trade policy. Demand picked up in the spring as buyers rushed to purchase vehicles ahead of anticipated price increases tied to tariffs. Over the summer, electric vehicle sales accelerated as consumers moved quickly before the expiration of the federal $7,500 EV tax credit. By the fourth quarter, however, interest in EVs had noticeably softened.

Toyota is expected to finish 2025 in second place with a 15.5% market share and an 8.4% increase in sales. Taken together, GM, Toyota, Ford, and Hyundai expanded their combined share by 2.6 percentage points, while most other automakers saw declines. As the market slows, it is these large manufacturers that continue to shape the backbone of vehicle supply in the U.S.