The United States sold an estimated 1,381,000 new vehicles in August 2026, down 5.8% year on year and up 1.3% on July, a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.8 million, according to Cox Automotive (Cox Automotive, 8 September 2026). As with every US figure on AutoNergy, this is an industry estimate: there is no single national body that publishes American registrations the way SIMI, SMMT or KBA do for their markets.
Ahead of Cox's own forecast
Cox had forecast a 16.3 million SAAR and an 8.5% year-on-year decline going into August. The actual print came in stronger: a 16.8 million SAAR and a smaller 5.8% decline. Cox's own read is that affluent buyers with strong credit or cash reserves keep supporting demand even as gas prices, interest rates and consumer confidence all sit at unfavourable levels for the average buyer.
Six months running above 16 million
August marks the sixth consecutive month with a SAAR above 16 million, the longest such streak since March 2020. Year to date the market is running at a 16.1 million SAAR, slightly ahead of Cox's own 15.9 million full-year forecast. Hybrid demand was specifically called out as a bright spot, with brands reporting continued strength in that segment.
EVs held a 5.7% share
Updated 28 September 2026. Cox's EV Market Monitor for August has now landed (Cox Automotive, 15 September 2026): an estimated 78,895 new EVs were sold, up 2.5% on July but down 46.9% on August 2025, which Cox notes was a record month for US EV volume. That is a 5.7% share of new-vehicle sales, essentially unchanged from July's 5.6%. Tesla sold 40,816 of them, just over half, and the average new-EV transaction price slipped to $54,754.
Open the live USA dashboard for the monthly series and the brand table.