Japanese car makers outpace American rivals in Q2

Japanese car brands continued to see sales growth in the U.S. over the second quarter, with hybrids playing an important role in their success.

Subaru

• One of the smaller import brands, Subaru did well in the second quarter, but narrowly avoided ending its almost 23-month streak of consecutive year-over-year sales growth.

• The automaker sold 169,447 units during Q2, up 5.4% from the same time last year.

• However, Subaru just barely beat its June 2023 numbers, selling just 60 more vehicles for a monthly total of 55,228 units. Had sales been any lower, it would have ended almost two straight years of growth.

Honda

• Honda and its subsidiary Acura saw slightly less growth than others but still maintained an edge over its U.S. competitors, outselling Stellantis who is struggling to defend its market share.

• The car manufacturer reported Q2 sales of 356,457 units, beating last year’s results by 2.7%.

• Similar to Subaru, Honda’s June sales were nearly flat compared to 2023, gaining only 1.1% to reach a volume of 112,742 units.

• Honda’s electrified offerings continued to see success throughout the quarter. In June, more than half of all CR-V models sold were hybrid.

Toyota

• Despite already being one of the country’s biggest automakers, Toyota saw substantially more growth than most of its competitors, although it failed to beat the Q2 frontrunner, General Motors, by about 75,000 units.

• The company’s U.S. branch posted 621,549 units in Q2 sales, an impressive year-over-year jump of 9.2%.

• The rate of growth across the Toyota and Lexus brands were almost identical throughout the period. That changed in June, however, when Toyota’s sales actually declined 1.2% down to 193,120 units while Lexus gained 5.9%. Due to its performance in Q2, Lexus has sold more vehicles over the last six months than in any other first-half in the company’s history.

• Toyota’s EV and hybrid sales were exceptional throughout the period, accounting for 44% of the automaker’s June sales total.

Bottom line: While not as formidable on a volume basis as some of their U.S. competitors, Japanese automakers saw a stronger rate of growth than the likes of Ford and General Motors, whose sales were only 1% and 0.6% higher than last year, respectively.

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