Hyundai On Track To Outsell Ford For The First Time Ever This Quarter

Hyundai has been moving up in the world in recent years. It became the world's third-largest carmaker in 2022, and now looks ready to overtake Ford as the third best-selling automaker in the U.S. in the third quarter of this year, reports CNBC.

According to a Cox Automotive forecast, Hyundai is expected to sell 511,421 vehicles from July through the end of September, an increase of 6.5% over 2025 sales. Ford, on the other hand, will see sales drop 7.1% to 504,172 units for the same period, falling behind Hyundai to fourth place. General Motors continues to lead, though its sales have dropped 5.5% since this time last year. Toyota is holding strong in second place.

American manufacturers have gone all-in on thirsty V8s and diesels in large, expensive trucks. In case you haven't noticed, gas prices sit at near-record highs, incentivizing people to buy more fuel-efficient hybrids instead. Hyundai is in a great position for this, offering hybrid options across most of its product line. Ford, on the other hand, only offers a hybrid option in the Maverick — a smaller truck than many people want — and the F-150. Ford's best-selling truck is also still suffering from production issues after a fire at an aluminum supplier, hampering production numbers.

Ford is playing catch-up here, and has been for some time. For example, it didn't offer all-wheel drive in the Maverick Hybrid until just last year. The F-150 hybrid only provides a marginal improvement in fuel economy. According to the EPA, the F-150 with the 2.7-liter V6 gets 21 mpg combined. The hybrid option only improves that to 24, and costs thousands of dollars that you're likely not going to save from fuel costs for a long time.

The upcoming Fathom pickup may help, but requires a full buy-in to living with an EV. It may also cannibalize Maverick sales due to its similar size. Despite a promise of more interior space than a Toyota RAV4, it's still a truck, not an SUV. Ford's Universal Electric Vehicle platform will eventually underpin other vehicles as well, perhaps even a Fiesta-sized hatchback, but that's all in the future, and doesn't help sales today.

Meanwhile, Hyundai is killing it with a full portfolio of hybrid SUVs, plus a few EV models in the Ioniq family. With offerings like the Palisade Hybrid, you don't have to give up any space or creature comforts to get superior fuel economy. Hyundai even still has a pair of sedans, a segment Ford abandoned years ago, that both offer hybrid options. SUVs remain more popular, but Hyundai's sedans are more affordable and get better gas mileage, two factors that have become far more important in recent months. Hyundai offers exactly what people want and need right now, which is how it could be taking the number three spot from Ford.