The Biggest Winners and Losers in Auto Sales in Q2 2025
2025 is halfway over (that went fast!), so it’s time yet again to examine the sales charts to see which automakers have come out on top over the first six months of the year and which companies need to step things up in the second half. We will publish our list of the 25 bestselling cars, trucks, and SUVs for 2025 when the full information comes out later this month, but for now, we’ve assembled a list of winners and losers from the second quarter of 2025.
Ford’s SUV lineup surged in the second quarter, with the exception of the electric Mustang Mach-E. The off-road-oriented Bronco experienced the biggest bump, up 51 percent in Q2 compared to the same period last year, and up 44 percent in the first half of 2025 with 72,063 units sold. Its baby brother, the Bronco Sport, had a 39 percent spike in Q2, as it reached 72,438 sales for the year, a 21 percent rise.
The Escape, which shares a platform with the more rugged Bronco Sport, experienced its own 19 percent jump in the second quarter, its yearly sales improving by 11 percent versus the first half of 2024. Ford’s biggest SUV, the Expedition, was recently refreshed and is seeing success, up 44 percent in Q2, while the Explorer also had a strong quarter, seeing a 24 percent increase versus Q2 2024.
SUVs still dominate American roads, but minivans are staging a comeback. The Honda Odyssey’s Q2 sales were 28 percent higher than in 2024, bringing its total to 50,033, up 28 percent for the year so far. The Kia Carnival has logged 33,152 sales in 2025, a 57 percent rise versus the first half of 2024, thanks to a strong second quarter that was 61 percent better than last year. But the segment leader was the Toyota Sienna, up 61 percent on the year with 52,762 sales, buoyed by a second quarter that was 74 percent better than Q2 2024. There were two exceptions, however: the Chrysler Pacifica (more on that later) and the electric Volkswagen ID.Buzz, which only managed 564 sales in Q2, versus 1901 sales in Q1.
Most of the myriad SUVs produced by General Motors across its four brands saw healthy second-quarter sales, but the biggest increases were among its larger offerings. The mid-size trio of the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, and GMC Acadia were all recently overhauled and continue rising, up 58 percent, 52 percent, and 61 percent, respectively, in the second quarter compared to Q2 2024. GM also recently freshened its full-size gas-powered SUVs, with the Cadillac Escalade up 16 percent, the Chevy Suburban up 39 percent, the Chevy Tahoe up 21 percent, and the GMC Yukon up 16 percent in Q2. Even the GMC Hummer EV is on a heater, up 54 percent compared to Q2 2024, bringing its yearly total to 7987, 74 percent higher than last year.
The Nissan Ariya is in its third model year, but that didn’t stop the sleekly styled electric SUV from posting a big increase. Nissan moved 7471 units of the Ariya in Q2, 44 percent more than the same period last year, and its 11,619 units sold through the first half is a 24 percent improvement versus 2024. The Ariya will be joined by a completely new 2026 Nissan Leaf this fall, which should help bolster Nissan’s EV sales.
Mini had a great second quarter, its overall sales climbing by 29 percent compared to Q2 2024. With 14,592 sales through the end of June, Mini sales are up 19 percent on the year. The numbers were boosted by two models, the Cooper four-door hatchback and the Countryman SUV. The former saw a massive 382 percent jump, from 315 sales in Q2 2024 to 1517 sales in Q2 2025, while the Countryman improved by 39 percent over last year to 3156 sales in the second quarter.
