New vehicle sales dropped 3.6% between the second and third quarters but held steady year over year.
In financing purchases, shoppers set quarter records for monthly payments and term length.
Driving the news: Edmunds’ third-quarter reports on vehicle sales and financing put vehicle sales at 4 million for the third quarter, about the same as 2025’s third quarter, which had the pull-ahead in EV sales before the end of the tax credit.
Sales were down approximately 150,000 from the 4.2 million in the second quarter, which Ivan Drury, Edmunds’ director of insight, told CDG News is not out of the norm.
“The Q2 to Q3 drop-off in sales is something that many dealers come to expect over the years as a seasonal effect,” Drury said. “Last year the same thing happened with a 3.3% reduction, and two years prior was a 5.0% drop.”
Honda, Hyundai stand out in quarter: According to Edmunds’ numbers, Hyundai/Kia was the only manufacturer to see a rise in sales between quarters, up 2.8%, with 506,709 units sold.
With the strong quarter, Hyundai/Kia tied Ford for third in market share at 12.4% behind GM and Toyota.
Honda recorded the biggest year-over-year gain at 11.6%, finishing the quarter with 400,545 sales.
GM finished atop manufacturers for the quarter at 669,044, approximately 26,000 ahead of Toyota.
“Honda has long been associated with risk-free decision-making and high fuel economy; these attributes are desirable when facing tougher economic times,” Drury said, alluding to the elevated fuel costs facing consumers. “Hyundai’s recent push toward hybrid powertrains has aligned perfectly with increased fueling costs, resulting in a massive shift of sales generated from hybrids: Q3 2025 hybrids were only 16.8% of Hyundai sales, but in 2026 Q3 that share has nearly doubled to 28.9%.”
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Payments, terms grow: Edmunds also issued its financing report for the third quarter, showing the average payment rose to $787, up $10 from last quarter and $31 from the same time last year.
The average amount financed grew to $44,664 with the average term at 70.5 months, both quarter records.
The amount of loans at 84 months or longer hit 25.5%, while the share of new car buyers with monthly payments at $1,000 or more hit 21.2%.
Bottom line: Sales remain seasonally strong despite the challenges facing consumers.
“What we’re seeing in the data is a remarkable display of consumer resilience against a very stretched financing landscape,” said Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds’ head of insights in a release. “Even as monthly payments hit record highs, loan terms stretch to historic lengths, and four-figure monthly payments become more common, buyer demand for new vehicles hasn’t dropped off.”
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