GM's Pickups and Cheap Crossovers Grew in Q3. Its EVs Fell 62%
Light-duty pickups rose 9% and small SUVs hit a record, but a 62% EV collapse pulled GM's total down — and let Toyota close to within 37,751 sales.
General Motors sold 670,974 vehicles in the US in the third quarter, down 5.5% from a year earlier, and nearly all of that drop came from electric vehicles. Its full-size pickups, small crossovers, and fleet sales grew, while its EV sales fell 62%, according to Reuters.
That keeps GM ahead of every other automaker in the US, but the lead is shrinking. Toyota Motor North America sold 633,223 vehicles in the same quarter, leaving a gap of 37,751, less than half of what it was a year ago. Our Q3 2026 sales roundup covers how the rest of the industry did.
Where GM grew
Trucks did the heavy lifting. GM's light-duty full-size pickups rose 9% in the quarter and are up 6% for the year, according to GM's investor materials. The midsize Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon gained 7% combined, and the Canyon had its best quarter ever.
The cheap end of the lineup grew even faster. GM's small SUVs, led by the Chevrolet Trax, Chevrolet Trailblazer, and Buick Envista, rose 27% and set a quarterly record. Trax sales alone were up 16%, and Buick's total volume climbed 8%. GM also says it led the industry in fleet sales for a fourth straight quarter, mostly on pickup demand from commercial buyers.
One figure shows how far GM's driver-assistance tech has spread. About 83,000 vehicles delivered in the quarter came with Super Cruise, GM's hands-free highway system. That is roughly one in eight vehicles GM sold, and it pushes the year's total past 245,000, a record for the system. GM is already developing an eyes-off successor.
The EV problem
A year ago, GM sold a record 66,501 EVs in the third quarter as buyers rushed to claim the $7,500 federal tax credit before it expired at the end of September 2025. Without the credit, the year-over-year comparison is lopsided. The Chevrolet Equinox EV fell 92.4% to 1,905 units, and the Blazer EV dropped 84.4%, CNBC reported.
Take EVs out of both quarters, and GM's sales were roughly flat. The company's own announcement barely mentions electric models this time. The only EV note is that Cadillac grew its share of the luxury EV market by 1.3 percentage points through August. In July, GM was still calling itself the country's No. 2 EV seller.
What comes next
The fourth quarter brings GM's most important launch: the next-generation 2027 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra are scheduled to reach dealers before the end of the year. We've broken down the 2027 Silverado 1500 prices and trims. GM says it remains on track to lead the full-size pickup segment for a seventh straight year and full-size SUVs for a 52nd.
The pickup race isn't settled yet. Ford, whose F-Series is the best-selling truck line in the US, hadn't reported third-quarter results at the time of writing. For shoppers weighing the two, here's how the F-150 and Silverado 1500 compare.
