Let’s face it: vehicle sales in the first half of 2022 were not great in terms of volume.

What’s more, they weren’t great for customers who were looking for something affordable—according to Kelley Blue Book, the average transaction price for a new vehicle was a record $48,043.

They were great for OEMs and dealers, because higher prices mean bigger profits.

Be that as it may, it is interesting to look at how the leading OEMs made out in terms of one another when it came to sales.

In first place there is General Motors, which sold 1,087,761 vehicles. Based on that, here is the sales delta between pairs of subsequent companies (i.e., how many more the first named company sold than the company that follows it in sales ranking):

• GM to Toyota:                  42,064
• Toyota to Ford:                135,965
• Ford to Stellantis:            95,900
• Stellantis to Hyundai:       110,867
• Hyundai to Honda:           196,668
• Honda to Nissan:             73,683
• Nissan to Volkswagen:      173,162

The gap between Toyota and Ford is surprising. And the gap between Ford and GM is even more surprising: 178,029.

Hyundai (as in the Group, meaning Kia, too) is certainly coming on strong. And Honda seems to be fizzling.

Realize that all of these companies are dealing with supply chain snafus and chip shortages, so it is a matter of (1) those who did a better job of managing their way through adversity and (2) a range of products (generally large SUVs and light-duty pickups) that consumers were interesting in acquiring.