US Total Auto Sales Down in November, EVs Bloom

Narrow inventories pushed sales of new vehicles down as Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Hyundai and Kia all reported their sales dropped during November despite anticipated strong demand.
Kia reported a drop in sales for November; however, its total sales through the first 11 months of 2021 surpassed the sales record the company set for all of 2020.

Kia sold 77% of its available inventory and continued to see increased demand for its hybrid and battery-electric vehicles, sales of which have nearly doubled since this time last year.

Hyundai sales of electrified vehicles climbed with sales hitting a 165% increase in November. Hyundai Motor America reported total November sales dropped 20% compared with November 2020, but sales of the company’s growing line eco-friendly vehicles grew 165 percent.

Consumer demand remains exceptionally high, and our dealers are doing a fantastic job of turning vehicles quickly and selling many before they even hit the lot.

American Honda reported a 17.1% drop in sales as Acura brand sales fell 21.2% and Honda brand sales dropped 16.6% due to what the company described as limited inventory.

Subaru of America said November sales dropped 35% compared with year-ago results. So far this year, Subaru sales have dropped 3% as inventories declined. Subaru sales were down 35% in November, but only 3% through the first 11 months of 2021.

Toyota and Lexus reported a steep decline in sales during November. Toyota brand sales fell 27.4% while Lexus sales dropped 35.1 percent.

Sales pace in November is expected to finish near 13.4 million units, up from last month’s 13 million, but down from November 2020’s COVID-recovery pace of 15.9 million.