To get straight to the point, both companies held their ground pretty well. Of course, since the second half of '25, US auto sales have been dipping, and everyone's predicting that'll continue into '26, so it looks like next year's market is gonna be a total war zone. First off, Hyundai broke the 900k sales mark in the US. They keep smashing records. If they keep this momentum, they might actually hit the 1 million mark next year (including Genesis). However, compared to Dec '24, Dec '25 only grew by 1%. While that's still 'holding the line' given the general market downturn, it also means a rough 2026 is waiting for them. Also, as you’ll see below, EV sales are basically toast, and there won't be much of a turnaround in '26. We’ve already discussed on Clien why the US EV market is flopping, so I’ll skip that. (In 2025, a whopping 3 million cars were repossessed in the US. When those hit the used market, it’s gonna put massive downward pressure on both new and used car prices.)
Toyota surpassed 2.5 million units in the US (including Lexus). I thought Dec '25 sales would drop compared to the previous year (since Toyota dealers are notoriously cocky and refuse to give discounts, making them $3-5k more expensive than Hyundai or other competitors in the same segment), but their sales actually jumped by nearly 10%.
What's wild is that almost half (47%) of those 2.5 million cars were hybrids. When Chairman Akio said back in 2021 during the EV boom that they’d 'focus on hybrids,' he got mocked to hell and back, but as of today, everyone except him was wrong. Tesla’s total global EV sales aren't that different from the number of hybrids Toyota sold just in the US. This company has so many 'absolute kings' in each segment that I doubt they’ll take a huge hit even if sales drop next year. In sedans, the Corolla and Camry focus on hybrids so they have no competition, the Tacoma is the undisputed #1 small truck, and the RAV4 is the #1 selling SUV worldwide... Plus, they're moving 10k units a month of high-end SUVs like the 4Runner (which is around $50k pre-tax). Since Hyundai also released a slick hybrid Palisade, 2026 is gonna be a hybrid bloodbath in the US. Honestly, just looking at the design, the Palisade looks way better than the Grand Highlander. I hope Hyundai makes their mark in the 'premium hybrid' space by selling these at full price. The era of the EV isn't coming anytime soon, and Tesla is probably gonna struggle hard.
"The community is torn between respecting Toyota's hybrid 'victory' and feeling patriotic pride for Hyundai's growth. There's a heated debate about whether the Big 3 are sabotaging EVs or just failing, and an even bigger fight over which SUV is actually uglier."
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