Biggest Winners and Losers in Auto Sales in Q2 2024 (2024)

The year is already halfway over, and now that the second quarter of 2024 has concluded, it's time to pore over the sales charts to see which models and automakers have succeeded so far. When all information is available, we will update our list of the 25 bestselling cars, trucks, and SUVs. Meanwhile, we've picked through the numbers to pull out the most intriguing nuggets and the most important trends, revealing the biggest winners of Q1 and a few car and brands that will need to rebound in the last six months of 2024.

SEE THE 25 BESTSELLING CARS, TRUCKS, AND SUVS

Electric SUVs are catching on, and while the totals remain fairly low, the gains were large. The Nissan Ariya exploded to 5203 sales in Q2, a 123 percent jump and part of an 80 percent increase on the year. The Ford Mustang Mach-E's sales rose nearly 47 percent while the Hyundai Ioniq 5 jumped 51 percent. Even pricer choices like the Cadillac Lyriq improved, with a massive leap to 7294 units sold. Toyota's bZ4X and its twin, the Subaru Solterra, both saw substantial increases. Newcomers such as the Kia EV9 and Chevy Blazer EV started to pop up in meaningful numbers.

The redesigned versions of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon built on their strong starts to the year with even better second quarters. The Chevy's 26,901 sales represented a 35 percent improvement over the same period last year, while the Canyon was up 69 percent to 11,351 units.

As the Chevrolet Camaro and the Dodge Challenger begin their descent into the grave, the remaining American muscle car, the Ford Mustang, is lapping up the extra sales. Its 8 percent increase through the first half of the year can be attributed to the second quarter, where the Mustang's 13,737 sales were 28 percent better than the same period in 2023.

While the similarly sized Mazda CX-5 still sells roughly double the amount of the CX-50, the latter is catching up. While the CX-5's sales dropped 12 percent through the first half, the CX-50 was up 64 percent to 35,197, in part thanks to an excellent June that was 121 percent higher than last year's.

Customers are proving that they still desire small, inexpensive transport. The Chevy Trax, starting at $21,495, continues to surge with 52,875 sales in the second quarter, while the Toyota Corolla Cross built on its good year with a 55 percent rise in Q2. Other small SUVs including the Hyundai Kona, the Nissan Kicks, the Mazda CX-30, and the Subaru Crosstrek also experienced growth. Small cars were popular too: Nissan's Versa and Sentra sedans continued their hot year, each up over 40 percent in Q2, and the Honda Civic, the Mazda 3, and the Kia Forte are all doing well. Even the Mitsubishi Mirage saw a large sales jump.

While GM is busy ramping up production of its EVs, its gas-powered SUVs floundered in the second quarter. All of Cadillac's internal-combustion crossovers were down by more than 10 percent, and sales of Buick's Enclave and Envision both dropped 36 percent. Nearly all of Chevy's SUVs saw declines, with the Traverse losing 35 percent and the Blazer and Suburban both down 29 percent. The only saving graces were the smallest members of GM's fleet: the Chevy Trax, its Buick Envista sibling, and the GMC Terrain.

Things looked murky at Stellantis in Q2. Jeep sales dropped 19 percent—with only the Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer seeing growth—and Ram was down 26 percent. Chrysler saw a 19 percent slide, and as Dodge phases out the current Charger and Challenger, the brand's overall sales fell by 17 percent. Only the Italian brands were up, but their totals were a blip on the radar: Fiat only sold 316 units in Q2 while 2492 Alfa Romeos found homes.

The Toyota Highlander is losing ground, but it isn't as bad as it sounds. The Highlander's 8910 June sales represented 51 percent less than the same period the prior year, when 18,542 Highlanders found owners, and sales are down 47 percent on the year. However, the more spacious Grand Highlander, introduced for 2024, seems to be responsible: Its 6542 sales in June and 55,000 sales on the year make up for the lower Highlander sales. The Grand Highlander also starts $4K higher.

The latest generation of Subaru's long-running WRX has traded rawness for refinement and enthusiasts have noticed. The WRX's poor June, with sales down 43 percent, is indicative of a rough year for the sports sedan. So far there have been 9295 units registered versus 15,373 sales in the first half last year, a 40 percent decline.