Hyundai, Kia, and Toyota brands turned in record October sales, capitalizing on consumers looking for hybrid options.
Driving the news: Overall October sales estimates ranged from JD Power’s seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.6 million to Cox Automotive’s SAAR of 16.1 million.
Cox Automotive put the sales volume at 1.38 million for the month, a 3.6% increase from September and a 7.2% jump from October 2025.
“October sales should remain on a path the market has consistently followed since March, which is basically a low-mid 16 million pace,” said Jonathan Gregory, senior director of Economic and Industry Insights at Cox Automotive in a release. “Healthy fleet sales, wealthier new-vehicle buyers and more access to credit are all keeping this market relatively strong in the face of many headwinds. Stubbornly high gas prices and historically low consumer confidence have not impacted the new-vehicle market as much as one might expect. New-vehicle buyers today are more affluent, so they may not be as impacted by inflationary pressures as other consumers.”
Toyota records best October: Selling 188,392 vehicles, Toyota enjoyed the company’s best October.
Sales were up 5.7% versus last October, with 14 models seeing sales growth.
The Grand Highlander Hybrid, RAV4 Hybrid, and RAV4 PHEV had their best all-time months.
The RAV4 led sales at 39,888, including 33,415 RAV4 Hybrids.
Lexus sales jumped 11.6% year-over-year with its best month ever at 33,115.
Hyundai breaks record: Hyundai sold an October record 73,452 vehicles, a 5% increase from October 2025.
Five models saw double-digit growth in sales, including the Santa Fe at 52% with 17,959 units sold.
Hybrids accounted for 29% of Hyundai’s sales, with a 20% rise year over year.
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Kia streak continues: Kia set a new sales record for a sixth straight month, selling 80,008 units.
The year-to-date sales hit 747,394, more than 42,000 ahead of the 2025 pace.
The Sportage led sales with 17,977, hitting a record for October and a 12% increase from 2025.
Kia’s EVs increased in sales by 112% and hybrids by 114%.
Honda hits 1.2M in sales: Combining sales from Honda and Acura, American Honda hit 1.2 million in sales for 2026, a 5% growth year over year, even with the iN outage that hampered dealer workflows in the final week of the month.
Honda sold 109,162 vehicles in October, a 9.1% increase from October 2025.
Its hybrid sales hit a record 32,519.
The CR-V saw a 5.9% jump to lead sales at 34,815.
Acura sales dropped 2.5% in October to 10,790.
Ford sales fall: Ford finished October with sales down 0.8% from last year at 174,123.
For the year, Ford’s sales are down 7.9% at 1.69 million.
The F-Series sales were up 8.2% in October at 73,482 and are at 634,990 for the year.
Expedition sales jumped 56.7% with 8,546 units sold, while the Explorer was up 35.2% with 23,855 sold in October.
Of other sales reports available: Mazda sales finished at 31,446 for its second-best October and a 25% increase from last October.
Subaru had a 6% increase in sales year-over-year with 54,090 units sold, including 16,574 units of the Crosstrek and 16,094 of the Forester.
GM and Stellantis do not report monthly sales.
Bottom line: October was a strong month for several automakers offering affordable and hybrid options. Overall, the market remained resilient again.
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