Car and pickup truck sales reached a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.6 million vehicles in June before easing slightly to 16.3 million in July. This is the fourth consecutive month with sales above the 16 million mark.
The resilience is particularly telling given the uncertainty surrounding tariffs, car prices, interest rates and energy costs.
Production picks up pace
Manufacturing data also gave positive signals. New orders for cars and auto parts reached $73.1 billion in June, up from $72.1 billion in March. On an annual basis, the increase was 10.6%.
U.S. motor vehicle and parts production also showed strength. The latest Federal Reserve data shows a significant increase in auto production, supporting the overall performance of the US industry.
According to the analysis, the annual rate of motor vehicle assembly reached about 11 million in July - the highest level since July 2023.
Automobile production in North America - the United States, Mexico and Canada - grew by 0.7% from the beginning of the year to the end of June, and in June alone the increase compared to the same month of the previous year was 2.6%.
Tariffs have not yet caused a price shock
One of the key questions is to what extent the new trade barriers will be passed on to final prices for US consumers.
So far, the effect seems limited. New car prices rose 0.5% year-on-year in June, while the producer price index for auto manufacturing rose 1.6%.
The pressure is stronger on component suppliers. Producer prices for auto parts rose 2.1% year-on-year. If this trend continues, higher supply chain costs could gradually be passed on first to automakers and then to buyers.
Tariff risk remains
The robust manufacturing performance does not mean that the U.S. auto industry has overcome trade policy risks.
Tariffs continue to change the manufacturing decisions of major companies. Ford, for example, announced in August that it plans to move production of some Lincoln models from China to the United States starting in 2030. The company cited high tariffs and regulatory restrictions as factors in the decision. The Lincoln Nautilus imported from China is currently subject to a 52.5% U.S. tariff.
At the same time, major Detroit automakers are warning that any tougher rules on North American-made component content could add billions of dollars to their annual costs. General Motors expects the cost of tariffs to reach between $2.5 billion and $3.5 billion this year, while Ford predicts an impact of about $1 billion.
Washington and Ottawa are also currently negotiating a possible reduction in the U.S. tariff on Canadian cars from the current 25% to 15%, with no final agreement yet.
Against this backdrop, the data points to the U.S. auto industry as one of the resilient segments of manufacturing in 2026. Sales and production have so far withstood the pressure, but tariffs, component prices and changes in North American supply chains remain among the main risks to the sector in the coming months.