GM is top selling automaker in US as 2024 sales tick up, EVs gain momentum

General Motors reported Friday that its U.S. sales rose 4% for all of 2024 compared with the year before, marking its best year-over-year gain since 2019. The automaker reported it sold more than 2.7 million new vehicles in the states, compared with 2.6 million new vehicles in 2023.

For the fourth quarter, GM reported a 21% gain in sales. The results mean GM once again tops the second highest-selling automaker in the U.S., Toyota Motor North America. On Friday, Toyota reported its year-end 2024 U.S. sales came in at 2,332,623 vehicles, an increase of 3.7% from 2023. The company reported fourth-quarter sales of 603,104 vehicles, a decrease of 2.7%.

GM gained its sales momentum from the introduction of new or refreshed models, its pickups and SUVs and for its new electric vehicles coming off of its Ultium propulsion system.

Prior to last year, GM struggled to make battery cell modules for those EVs, hampering production and sales of the cars. But GM said Friday that 2024 was its best year for EV sales ever. For the year, GM sold 114,432 EVs, a 50% gain over 2023. For the fourth quarter, GM sold 43,982 EVs compared with 13,938 in 2023. GM said it now has about 12% of the EV market.

“The driving force for our business is new vehicles with great design and performance across our portfolio, helping our dealers satisfy more customers. We’re carrying significant momentum into 2025,” Rory Harvey, GM’s president of Global Markets, said in a statement.

GM brought to market new or redesigned gasoline-powered models of the GMC Acadia, the Chevrolet Equinox, Buick Envision, Chevrolet Traverse, Cadillac CT5, GMC Yukon, Chevrolet Tahoe and Chevrolet Suburban in 2024.

In the quarter, GM sold 755,160 new vehicles, a 21% gain compared with 625,176 new cars sold in the year-ago quarter.

For the full year, GM sold 2,705,080 new vehicles compared with 2,594,698 new vehicles sold in 2023. GM’s sales to fleet rose 22% in the quarter, it said, but it did not provide a number for how many vehicles were delivered.

GM ended 2024 with 596,775 total vehicles in dealership inventory, up from 456,686 at the end of 2023. The average transaction price for a GM vehicle in the fourth quarter $51,292, compared with $49,341 in the third quarter, GM said.

GM’s results were predicted in early December by Cox Automotive senior economist Charlie Chesbrough who said, “The sales winner in 2024 is General Motors. Their sales are expected to finish near 2.7 million units, up over 4% from last year, an increase of approximately twice the national average. Both Buick and Cadillac brands will see double-digit gains this year, but Chevrolet Trax had the biggest volume increase — and, not coincidentally, it is also their lowest- priced product.”