US Monthly (July): SAAR reaches 16.5 million, Honda’s sales remain strong; watch for potential vehicle price hikes across market

Research evidence excerpt

US Monthly (July): SAAR reaches 16.5 million, Honda’s sales remain strong; watch for potential vehicle price hikes across market

J P M O R G A N Asia Pacific Equity Research

04 August 2026

US Monthly (July)

SAAR reaches 16.5 million, Honda’s sales remain

strong; watch for potential vehicle price hikes across

market

US SAAR in July was 16.5 million, slightly below our estimate of 16.7 million Japan Equity Research

but generally in line with expectations. Among Japanese automakers, Toyota

Autos & Auto Parts

Motor and Honda Motor both increased their market shares MoM and YoY,

while other major automakers saw a slight decline in share. Honda’s core Akira Kishimoto AC

models continued to show strong sales momentum. The HEV ratio was 15.8% (81-3) 6736-8646

akira.x.kishimoto@jpmorgan.com

in July, a slight decline from the previous month, but sales momentum

Wencong Zhang

remained strong. Looking ahead, we will need to monitor when Toyota’s (81-3) 6736-8627

RAV4 (HEV) enters full production. In the relatively robust US market, we wencong.zhang@jpmorgan.com

are watching whether automakers increase prices, including in response to JPMorgan Securities Japan Co., Ltd.

raw materials inflation.

• US SAAR of 16.5 million falls slightly short of our estimate: According to

US Autodata, July US new vehicle sales (SAAR) totaled 16.51 million, down

slightly from June's 16.67 million and marginally below our estimate of 16.7

million, but generally in line with expectations. Monthly sales volume was

1.38 million units (‒1.9% YoY on a DSR basis), with passenger cars at 0.24

million units (+0.7% YoY) and light trucks at 1.14 million units (‒2.4% YoY).

• Sales performance of Japanese automakers: Among Japanese automakers,

Toyota Motor (216k units, ‒0.8% YoY) and Honda Motor (137k units,