Four Wheel Trends
Posts
Q3 Winners and Losers

Q3 Winners and Losers

Mostly, it's losers, as the automotive market struggles to pick up sales. But, which brand is struggling the most?

Bernardo Montes de Oca
October 05, 2024

In partnership with

If you love numbers, this issue is for you! We’re dissecting the results from Q3 2024, and there are many surprises.

Guess what vehicle is helping GM grow. It might not be the one you think.

Plus, America still refuses to love EVs, and it shows in the sales figures. That and much more, in this long-read.

PS: We won’t have a podcast this week, but we will soon!

Key Takeaways

Don’t have much time? Here’s the summary of what we’re talking about:

Car Sales Slowdown: Q3 2024 shows that overall vehicle sales are slowing, with full-size SUVs like the Chevy Suburban seeing significant declines.
Smaller Vehicles Rising: Smaller, fuel-efficient cars like the Chevy Trax are gaining popularity, with a 56% increase in sales.
EVs Struggling to Take Off: Despite a push for electrification, EVs and hybrids still lag behind, with ICE vehicles remaining more popular.
Political Impact: Potential tariffs and bans on Chinese-made vehicles could impact future sales.

NEWSBITES

Every week, we scour the web for the most essential news. Here’s what you need to know this week:

Toyota delays EV plans as the market doesn’t gain strength
Ford has big plans, with low-volume production
These are the cars you wanted to see disappear

LONG READ

Are all automakers struggling?

According to Road and Track, this is the list of the best full-size SUVs in the US.

On the other hand, these are the best full-size SUVs, according to Consumer Reports.

Looking at the list as a whole, you find almost no surprises. When you compare them, you realize that rankings are pretty much opinions. (That's another episode entirely).

However, it brings out something interesting, which is what our article is about.

America used to love full-size SUVs. I still do, and I find them comfortable, valuable, and practical (in a non-urban environment).

But it turns out that the country doesn't love them anymore, and consumer tendencies are changing rapidly.

Q3 2024 has drawn to a close, and the entire automotive media rushes to diagnose one thing: How are automakers doing?

Stellantis didn’t have a good Q3 2024, but how bad was it?

This way, we can sound alarms, speculate, come up with conspiracy theories, and all that.

But, most importantly, we can tell you which car is a best-seller. And, let me tell you: full-size SUVs aren't.

Four Wheels Trends analyzes every bit of information it has so you can understand what's happening in the automotive world. Spoiler alert: there are some surprises.

Sales are slowing down

The pandemic occurred six years ago.

That's how long we've seen the automotive industry turn on its head, and yet we're still reeling from the consequences.

Car sales aren't picking up.

They've idled (get it?) at around 4 million per quarter for quite a while now. There are a lot of factors at play here.

Buying a new car is expensive.

This article discusses when buying a new car is worth it and when you're better off with a used one.

Inflation, interest rates, shameless dealers, and MSRP chaos are reasons sales slow down.

Some say it could all worsen in 2025.

The following chart shows how sales have performed in past quarters.

But 2023 was a good year. After all, the following table shows how growth spiked.

Keep in mind that 2024 is a projection

So, while the automotive sector managed to spark growth in 2023, it has failed to overcome the various reasons and keep that momentum going for 2024.

Plus. it's easy to grow after going through a pandemic.

However, once we dive into the figures more precisely, we can see that they tell a varied, complex story about how the automotive sector is shaping up for the future.

So, who are the winners and losers (primarily losers) in Q3 2024?

Read our in-depth article in the link below.

What did you think of this post?

We love your feedback!