Ford Edges Out Hyundai to Retain No. 3 Spot in U.S. Q3 Auto Sales

Ford Motor held onto its third-place ranking in U.S. auto sales during the third quarter of 2026, narrowly staving off Hyundai Motor despite analyst projections that the South Korean automaker would surpass it for the first time.

According to reporting by CNBC Business (https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/02/ford-q3-sales.html), Ford reported a 6.6% year-over-year decline in third-quarter light-duty vehicle sales to 507,395 units. The South Korean auto group—encompassing the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands—recorded a 5.4% increase over the same period to 506,200 vehicles. The resulting spread of 1,195 vehicles allowed Ford to maintain its ranking behind General Motors and Toyota Motor.

The narrow margin came after Cox Automotive forecast last week that Hyundai would overtake Ford in quarterly volume. Through the first nine months of the year, Ford maintains an overall lead of roughly 89,700 vehicles over Hyundai. General Motors leads the U.S. market for 2026, with Toyota making gains in the second position.

Ford downplayed Hyundai's proximity on Friday, noting that the Hyundai and Kia brands operate separately in the U.S. despite shared corporate ownership. The Detroit automaker has contended with supply disruptions after two supplier fires last year constrained assembly of its core F-Series pickup trucks. The discontinuation of models including the Ford Escape crossover also created difficult year-over-year sales baselines.

Rob Kaffl, Ford's head of U.S. sales, stated on an investor and media call that inventory and sales for F-Series trucks continued to improve over the quarter. F-Series volume dipped 1.9% in the third quarter, a figure that includes a 97.1% decline in sales of the discontinued F-150 Lightning electric pickup. By brand division, Ford brand sales declined roughly 6% in the quarter, while Lincoln fell 18%.

Electric vehicles remained a significant drag on comparisons across the portfolio. Ford's EV sales dropped roughly 80% during the third quarter and fell 67.5% year-to-date through September. The steep drop reflects tough comparisons to 2025, when buyers pulled purchases forward ahead of the Trump administration's termination of federal consumer EV tax credits worth up to $7,500.