General Motors delivered 670,974 vehicles in the third quarter, a 5.5 percent decline from a year earlier, while Toyota Motor sold 633,223, up 0.6 percent. The gap between the U.S. sales leader and its closest rival has compressed to less than 136,000 units from roughly 335,000 for the full year 2025.

The EV comparison problem

GM’s electric lineup recorded double-digit percentage drops across every model. The Equinox EV fell 92.4 percent to 1,905 units, the Blazer EV dropped 84.4 percent, and the Hummer EV declined 72.9 percent. The comparisons are distorted: last year’s quarter benefited from a pull-forward of demand before the Trump administration eliminated up to $7,500 in federal purchase incentives, producing what GM at the time called record EV sales.

Hybrid math works for Toyota and Honda

Toyota’s electrified vehicles, a category that includes hybrids, rose 28.5 percent to 363,367 units, representing more than 57 percent of its quarterly total. Honda Motor reported a 9.3 percent increase in U.S. sales and a record quarter for hybrids of more than 106,000 units. “We’ve got really high demand for hybrids,” Lance Woelfer, head of American Honda Motor’s U.S. sales, told CNBC. “We’re finding more and more consumers are figuring out hybrids meet their needs.” GM offers a single hybrid, the Corvette.

Trucks and the price umbrella

Full-size pickups, GM’s profit core, were relatively flat. The national average gasoline price of $4.41, per AAA, was expected to pressure large SUVs and trucks, but the effect has not yet appeared in GM’s truck volumes. Lower-priced crossovers provided the only growth: the Chevrolet Trailblazer surged 51 percent, the Buick Envista rose 18.4 percent, and the Chevrolet Trax climbed 16.3 percent. Cadillac led the year-to-date declines across GM’s brands at 25 percent.

What to watch

Cox Automotive has raised its 2026 industry forecast by roughly 2 percent to 16.1 million units and projects Toyota could overtake GM as the U.S. sales leader if current trends persist. GM last month detailed new V-8 engines for its next-generation pickups. Duncan Aldred, president of GM North America, said the business is performing very well and the truck launch remains on track.