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- Ford and GM reported their highest sales since 2019, with GM selling 2.7 million vehicles in 2024.
- Tesla experienced its first-ever annual sales decline, selling 1.8 million vehicles, down 1% from 2023.
- Tesla's stock rebounded, rising 8.2% after the sales report, amid Musk's political affiliations.
SALT LAKE CITY — Just a day after Elon Musk-owned electric vehicle maker Tesla reported its first-ever decline in annual vehicle sales in 2024, two other U.S. automobile powerhouses released data reflecting their biggest sales volumes in five years, bolstering a banner year for new vehicle sales by domestic manufacturers.
On Friday, Ford and GM reported their best figures since 2019, with overall new vehicle sales in the U.S. expected to hit 16 million for 2024, the best annual volume since domestic automakers sold a collective 17 million vehicles in 2019.
GM held its spot as the top-selling brand in the U.S. in 2024, reporting 2.7 million vehicles sold last year, up 4.3% from 2023. GM sold 2.9 million vehicles in 2019.
"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 president of global markets, said in a release, per CNBC.
Ford's Friday report highlighted sales of 2.08 million vehicles in 2024, up from just under 2 million in 2023. In 2019, Ford reported annual sales of 2.42 million vehicles in the U.S.
A big jump in 2024 electrical vehicle sales helped boost Ford's overall volume for the year, with EV sales up 38% from 2023, while internal combustion-powered units only moved up 0.2% from the previous year.
Ford held the No. 3 spot in U.S. vehicle sales in 2024 with Toyota, which sold 2.3 million vehicles in the U.S. last year, coming in second.
Tesla sales down
On Thursday, Tesla reported the first full-year drop in global sales in its history as a public company, according to a report from CNN.
While Tesla saw a fourth quarter sales increase of around 2%, the EV maker's 2024 annual sales volume of 1.8 million vehicles fell 1% short of its overall sales in 2023.
Increased competition from both international and domestic electric vehicle manufacturers have eaten into Tesla's dominance, though it remained the world's top EV seller in 2024, edging out China's BYD by 24,000 vehicles last year.
Tesla stock dipped following the release of sales figures on Thursday, but prices more than recovered on Friday, climbing 8.2% by the end of regular trading, and shares in the EV company are up over 70% in the last year. Tesla's market capitalization stood at $1.29 trillion at the end of regular trading Friday.
Musk's close association with President-elect Donald Trump is being viewed favorably by investors who believe the relationship bodes well for future policy direction that may favor Musk's endeavors.
While Musk at one time described himself as "half-Democrat, half-Republican," he has since come down fully in the GOP camp, reportedly donating nearly $280 million to Trump and other Republican candidates in the 2024 election cycle, and he's now set to join Trump's second-term inner circle as co-leader of the proposed Department of Government Efficiency.
