2023’s Best, Worst, and Surprising Car Sales Results

With 2023 now firmly behind us, the automakers have started to release their end of year financial sales figures. It’s a good time to see which models did the best and the worst for their shareholder pocketbooks. Some numbers were surprising, some weren’t, and some models were sold that we weren’t even expecting to see this sales year. Here’s how each automaker managed last year.

As Honda’s luxury brand, you won’t expect huge volumes of sales but there were some surprises from Acura in 2023. First, there were five NSXs sold brand new despite 2022 being its final year of production. This was joined by the 2022 ILX with only two sold new off dealer lots in the entirety of 2023. With production ramping up, the newer Integra’s sales numbers increased 146.3 percent over 2022 with 32,090 models sold in 2023, showing that the Integra is still a popular legacy model for Acura.

The 2023 MDX is only up slightly at 24.1 percent over 2022 sales with 57,599 units sold, while its RDX sibling saw a 58.5-percent increase and 39,228 models sold in 2023. Overall, Acura was up by 42.4 percent in total sales over 2022 thanks to selling 145,655 cars and SUVs in all of last year.

As one of Volkswagen Group’s luxury brands, Audi sales figures are normally expected to be lower than the brand’s namesake, but 2023 was a decent year for it. The biggest loser of the brand was the 2023 A7, selling only 1,810 copies in 2023 which puts it down by 19 percent when compared to 2022, where Audi sold 2,237 models. Doing “meh” by comparison was the Q8 e-trons with the SUV turning in a 9-percent increase over 2022 with 8,180 models sold; the Sportback body had basically no change with only 2,907 copies sold in 2023.

The big winner was the Q7 with a 50-percent increase over 2022 and 28,931 copies sold in 2023. With the Q4 e-trons ramping production, the sales increases are well over 100 percent, but less than 3,000 SUV bodies and just under 600 Sportback bodies were sold in 2022, making the 8,144 SUV bodies and 2,606 Sportback bodies look more impressive on paper. A legitimate over-100-percenter was the R8 sports car, but 2023 marks its final year of production with internal combustion propulsion and those wanting the last ICE-powered mid-engine Audis will most likely explain that increase.

While it makes some beautiful vehicles, it just seems like Alfa Romeo can’t yet catch a break here in the U.S. market. Overall, sales are down by 15 percent when compared to 2022. The surprise to see on this list is the mid-engine 4C that was discontinued in 2020. Well, one example was still on a dealer lot somewhere and it was sold in 2023. That single sale wasn’t enough to really help Alfa in 2023, as the Giulia only sold 3,461 copies (down 32 percent versus 2022) and the Stelvio SUV only sold 5,340 models (down 31 percent). The brand new, smaller Tonale SUV was able to convince 2,096 customers to buy one in 2023 (after it went on sale for the third quarter of the year).

Buick is trying its best to reinvigorate itself as a youngster’s brand and that has seemed to have helped quite a bit. It was GM’s best-performing brand for sales in 2023 with a 61.4-percent increase over 2022. The genuine winner for Buick (without being brand new for last year) was the Envision. It saw a 71.2-percent increase in sales over 2022 with 44,281 models sold. With the Encore GX taking over for the Encore, it saw a 92.4-percent increase over 2022 with 64,149 copies sold. But that sacrificed the Encore’s sales with only 5,887 models sold in 2023, a 57.1-percent drop versus 2022. Meddling along was the Enclave with 39,411 copies, a 29.1-percent increase over 2022.

For 2023, Cadillac was able to sell 147,214 models, but that’s less than a 10-percent increase over 2022. Not helping things were the CT4, XT5, and XT6—all models that saw negative sales percentages between 2022 and 2023. Of those three, the XT6 was the worst with a 4.7-percent drop in sales with only 19,119 models sold in 2023. The XT5 was the next worst with a 1.9-percent drop with 26,808 sold, and the CT4 saw a negative 1.4-percent difference thanks to selling only 9,144 models. The best performer was the CT5, selling 17-percent more than 2022 with 18,593 models driving off dealer lots in 2023.

The Lyriq all-electric SUV is still a bit too new, but Cadillac dealers managed to sell 9,154 copies of the Caddy EV. The volume leader for Cadillac remains the full-size Escalade SUV at 41,689 models sold in 2023, but that was only a 3.6-percent increase versus 2022.

While Chevrolet ended 2023 on a sour note thanks to the news of the Blazer EV’s temporary stop-sale, the General’s most affordable brand was able to increase sales by 13.1 percent over 2022. It was able to sell 1,716,280 vehicles in 2023 and its best performer was the Trailblazer SUV. With 111,014 models sold, the Trailblazer increased its sales by 82.3 percent over 2022. The worst performer was the outgoing Express full-size van, dropping its sales by 23.1 percent with 40,660 copies sold in 2023.

Chevrolet’s number one seller remains the Silverado, moving 555,148 models in 2023, but that’s only a 6.1-percent increase over 2022. The light-duty version of the Silverado is still the better selling of the three sizes available with 354,775 sold in 2023, up by 9.3 percent over 2022. The heavy-duty version barely lost out with a 0.1-percent decrease versus 2022 (188,751 sold in 2023) while the medium-duty version nearly increased its sales by 20 percent. It finished out 2023 up 19.5 percent with 11,829 models sold.

Chevrolet’s all-electric vehicles are doing mostly fine, despite the bad news on the Blazer EV. The Silverado EV is finally starting to leave dealer lots, but only 461 models were sold in 2023. Chevrolet also sold more Bolts in 2023, but their sales report fails to separate the regular Bolt from the EUV, but those saw a 62.8-percent increase over 2022 by selling 62,045 models. While it was hard to find, the Blazer EV was able to get 463 copies off dealer lots before the stop sale was issued to fix its reported software problems.

With the Camaro bowing out in 2023, more people were willing to shell out the cash for the General’s modern muscle car. With 31,028 models sold, the Camaro ends on a sales high by selling 62.8-percent more than it did in 2022. The same can’t be said for the Corvette sports car, however. While not a huge drop for a high-performance model, the mid-engine C8 sold 34,353 models and that was 0.5-percent less than it did in 2022.

While it only had two models to sell as brand-new in 2023, there were some surprising models to see reported rolling off dealer lots as unsold. The last time we saw the Town & Country new was back in 2016, but it appears some dealer somewhere had two still sitting on their lot in 2023. As if that wasn’t strange enough, there were four Chrysler 200s sold in 2023, which were brand-new in 2017. We just must wonder how those were still on dealer lots for so long.

While six vehicles aren’t huge numbers, it didn’t hurt the Chrysler brand, either. The outgoing 300 was down by seven percent versus 2022 (selling 13,169 models in 2023) while the Pacifica was up 22 percent over 2022 by selling 120,554 copies. In total, Chrysler was up by 19 percent over 2022 with 133,729 models sold—including those six nearly decade old brand-new cars—and was Stellantis’ best performing brand in 2023 by sales percentage.

Speaking of oddball cars to see listed in 2023, Dodge had its own interesting vehicles sold as brand-new. Were you one of the three people to buy a 2016 Dodge Dart brand-new and off the dealer lot in 2023? Did they happen to come free with the purchase of a brand-new 2017 Dodge Viper? Or did those Vipers come as a special gift for buying the last 36 2020 Dodge Journeys or last 27 2020 Grand Caravans still on a dealer lots and unsold into 2023?

Regardless, Dodge was Stellantis’ best worst performer in 2023. The loss of the Hemi-powered Charger and Challenger resulted in less sales of those popular modern muscle cars. The Charger sold 75,920 copies, which is down by five percent over 2022 while its sibling Challenger was down 18 percent in sales over 2022 by selling only 44,960 copies. The best performer for Dodge was the Durango, selling 69,196 models in 2023. That was a 25-percent increase over 2022 and what helped keep Dodge in the green in sales by 5 percent.

Another Stellantis brand that just can’t catch a break is Fiat. While Alfa Romeo’s 15-percent sales drop versus 2022 is bad, it’s nothing compared to the 34-percent sales drop that Fiat had versus 2022. Even selling 16 500s hatches (a 100-percent increase over 2022) and 28 Spiders (a 17-percent increase over 2022) just couldn’t overcome selling less 500Ls and 500Xs. The 500L sold seven copies in 2023 while the 500X only sold 554 models—a drop of 37 percent versus 2022.

When it comes to sales volume in the truck market, nothing beat the Blue Oval in 2023. With 750,789 unit sold, the Ford F-Series out ranked the Toyota Tundra and Chevrolet Silverado in the most trucks sold and an increase of 14.8 percent over 2022. Even its all-electric version, the Lightning, closed out 2023 by selling 54.7 percent more than it did in 2022 with 24,165 copies leaving dealer lots in 2023.

If you’re defining vehicles with an open cargo bed as a truck, then the next popular vehicle for Ford wasn’t the Ranger. It was the mighty Maverick, which sold 94,058 models (a 26.5-percent increase over 2022) over the Ranger’s 32,334. But 2023 is a transition year for the Ranger and the new version will be going on sale in 2024.

The next most popular vehicle for Ford’s “truck” sales was the 2023 Transit, selling 129,009 copies in 2023 (a 26.5-percent increase over 2022). It’s all-electric version, the E-Transit, also saw an increase in 2023 with 7,672 models sold and 18 percent more than what left dealer lots in 2022.

For SUVs, the Ford Explorer tops the Blue Oval’s list with 186,799 units sold, but that’s a drop of 10.1 percent versus 2022. When it comes to percentages, The Bronco Sport is Ford’s best sales performer for 2023. It’s 28.1-percent increase over 2022 is thanks to selling 127,476 units in 2023. The Bronco was the second worst performer for Ford’s SUVs, dropping 9.7 percent versus 2022 by selling only 105,665 units.

Doing so-so in sales percentages was the all-electric Mustang Mach-E (a 3.3-percent increase) and the Escape (2.6-percent increase). The surprise was the EcoSport, a model killed off in 2022, was still able to sell 2,508 units in 2023, but it’s outgoing and the 91.4-percent drop versus 2022 reflects this.

There’s only one car for Ford and that’s the Mustang. How has news of Dodge and Chevrolet killing off its competition and a new generation introduced in 2023 been reflected in sales at the dealership? Not great. All Mustang variants garnered 48,636 of units sold in 2023, which is only 2.2 percent more than it did in 2022. Ford’s never-engine-but-really-is-ending-now, the GT, was down in sales by 68.7 percent and only sold 31 examples in 2023.

Genesis, Hyundai Motor Group’s luxury brand, ended 2023 on a 23 percent positive note versus 2022. Its total sales increased to 69,175 versus 2022’s 56,410 units. This mostly appears thanks to new for 2022 models starting to mature in 2023 as we see two models that have over 100 percent increases from 2022.

Chief among them was the GV60, which lowered its price for the 2024 model year version. This all-electric SUV saw 3,400 models sold in 2023 for a 114 percent increase over 2022. The Electrified G80 sedan found a 527 percent increase thanks to selling 1,329 models in 2023, but the standard G80 sedan only saw a one percent increase over 2022 selling 4,170 copies in 2023. This also makes the G80 the worst performer by percentage for 2023 as well as by volume when considering that it’s not a debut or even a second-year vehicle for Genesis. The G80 debuted as a 2021 model year vehicle in 2020.

The winner for Genesis by volume was the ICE-powered version of GV70 at 24,314 units for 2023, a 27 percent increase over 2022. Its all-electric version debuted in 2023 but was able to sell 1,674 units, quickly out pacing the Electrified G80 in both debut sales and 2023 sales performance. The next highest was the GV80 at 19,697 units (a 12 percent increase) and the G70 sedan at 13,246 units (a five percent increase over 2022).

It’s hard to call GMC a loser, but when compared to the rest of GMs brands, it was the worst performer in 2023. With 563,677 units sold, it didn’t even manage increasing its sales by 9 percent where all of its other brands were well over 9 percent. Not helping things was the GMC Canyon, which only sold 22,458 units and a drop of 19.3 percent over 2022. Though, it can be forgiven considering this is a new generation that dropped in at dealer lots during 2023.

The same excuse can’t be used for the GMC Terrain, however. This smaller SUV from GMC dropped 17 percent of its sales when compared to 2022 thanks to only selling 71,857 models in 2023. The outgoing Savana full-size van was the least bad performer with a 14.8-percent drop from 2022.

The volume leader for GMC is its Sierra pickup truck line. The Sierra light-duty finished out 2023 selling 189,288 units which is an increase of 32.9 percent over 2022, making it the best performer for GMC. The heavy-duty version didn’t do as well, but still finished positive with a 7.4 percent increase over 2022 sales with 106,449 units sold in 2023. The all-electric GMC Hummer EV looks astonishing on paper with a 279.9-percent increase in sales, but that’s due to ramping up production of the SUV version and sending out a total of 3,244 units before 2023 ended financially for GMC. Closing out the year essentially the same as it did in 2022 was the Yukon, selling 82,271 copies in 2023.

Honda did very well for itself in 2023, selling 31.9-percent more vehicles than it did in 2022 and managing to break over 1 million units sold. It’s best performing by percentage was the Odyssey with a 57 percent sales increase over 2022, selling 74,738 units. However, its best performing vehicle in sales was the CRV, selling 361,457 copies in 2023—51.8-percent more than were sold in 2022.

Honda’s next best performer was the Civic with 200,381 units sold (49.6-percent more than 2022) followed by the HRV (122,206 sold, but only 5.9-percent better than 2022) and the Pilot (110,298 sold, an increase of 10.8 percent over 2022). The worst performer for Honda by units sold and percentage over 2022 was the Passport. While it did finish 2023 5.3-percent higher than it did in 2022, Honda dealers only managed to sell 43,502 units.

As 2023 closed, it appears that Hyundai was able to finish out the year 11 percent ahead of what it did in 2022 by selling a total of 801,195 units. By sales percentage, leading the charge was the all-electric Ioniq 5 beating out its 2022 sales by 48 percent and selling 33,918 examples in 2023. An impressive number considering the next best sales percentage performer was the Kona, selling 79,116 copies in 2023 to better its 2022 sales by 24 percent.

Even so, the leader for Hyundai by sales volume was the Tucson, selling 209,624 units and beating 2022 by 20 percent. The next best volume seller was the Elantra, selling 134,149 examples for a 14 percent increase over 2022. While most vehicles that saw a decrease were due to discontinuations, the Sonata was the only one that is still planned to be in production but saw a sales slump of 18 percent versus 2022. It only managed to sell 45,344 units in 2023. Doing a so-so job in sales for 2023 was Hyundai’s attempt at a pickup truck, the Santa Cruz, which only saw a one percent increase in sales over 2022 and selling 36,675 of them to new owners in 2023.

For 2023, Nissan’s luxury brand, Infiniti, finished out 2023 positive in its sales performance and closed out the year 16.9 percent better than it did in 2022. Despite that 14 percent increase, Infiniti didn’t manage to break over 65,000 units sold, and its best-selling vehicle didn’t even manage to eclipse 30,000 models rolling off dealer lots.

That vehicle happed to be the QX60, the three-row luxury SUV based off the Nissan Pathfinder. It sold 29,383 units and was a 77.3 percent increase over 2022. The worst performers were the QX50 and QX55, its luxury compact SUVs. Even set as entry-level SUV models, Infiniti sold 10.5 percent less (QX50 with 9,941 units) and 6.1 percent more (QX55 with 5,418 units) less than it did in 2022.

We’re starting to wonder if the same dealer that sold those old Dodges and Chryslers as brand-new in 2023 has Jeep as part of its franchise. That’s because somehow, it managed to also sell a 2017 Jeep Patriot in 2023. Shockingly, this is a 75-percent decrease in 2017 Patriot sales versus 2022 as Jeep sold four of them just the year prior.

While the Wrangler will always have its vocal and proud enthusiasts, it seems the JL generation is starting to wane when looking at its sales performance over 2022. With 156,581 units sold, the Wrangler sold 14 percent less units than it did in 2022. The “truckified” sibling, the Gladiator pickup, sold even worse compared year-to-year with a 29 percent decrease at 55,188 units sold in 2023.

The worst performer by sales percentage for Jeep was the Cherokee, seeing a 39 percent drop versus 2022 and selling 24,609 copies in 2023. It ended production in 2023. Volume-wise, the Grand Wagoneer is the worst with only 10,618 units sold, which is a drop of 10 percent versus 2022. The cheaper Wagoneer only managed 29,149 units sold in 2023, a drop of 20 percent versus 2022. Overall, Jeep sold six percent less vehicles than it did in 2022, finishing out 2023 selling 642,924 vehicles in 2023.

Turns out Hyundai wasn’t the only member of the Hyundai Motor Group to finish ahead of 2022. When all was said and done for 2023, Kia managed to sell 782,451 vehicles in 2023 and that number was 11 percent higher than 2022. The only opposite takeaway was that the Hyundai Inoiq 5 sister car, the Kia EV6, finished 2023 down in sales. With only 18,879 units sold, the EV6 was down by nine percent versus 2022. The best performer by sales percentage was the Carnival, which saw a 55-percent increase over 2022 with 43,687 examples sold in 2023.

However, the Carnival wasn’t the leader by sales volume in 2023 and that goes to the Sportage with 140,780 copies sold in 2023, but that was only an 11-percent increase over 2022. The Sorento only did a so-so 2023 with 88,625 units sold being only a three-percent increase over 2022. Due to its cancellation after 2023, the Stinger ends the year and its run with only 5,452 units sold in 2023 Pushing it to close out the year 43 percent worse in sales due to end of its production and making us wonder what would have happened if Kia remembered it produced the RWD sedan before killing it off.

As Ford’s luxury SUV brand, Lincoln isn’t going to be a huge seller (since it doesn’t offer sedans or a truck, yet). That said, Lincoln finished 2023 weaker than it did in 2022 by selling two percent less vehicles. Dropping the worst by both sales percentage and units sold was the Aviator. Managing only 15,551 units sold, it underperformed by 29.2 percent versus 2022, where it sold 21,977 units.

Second worst by percentage was the Corsair, dropping 11.9 percent versus 2022, but selling 24,384 copies in 2023 and making it the best performer by total units sold. The best performer by sales percentage for 2023 was the Navigator which sold 32.9 percent better than it did in 2022, but only 17,549 examples drove off dealer lots in 2023. In total, Lincoln sold 81,818 vehicles for 2023—1,668 units less than it did in 2022.

As part of the highly regarded Toyota brand, Lexus quality and luxury are hard to beat and continue to be held in high esteem among American buyers. This is reflected in its sales figures for 2023, selling 320,249 vehicles and ending 23.8 percent better than it did in 2022. There are three vehicles in the Lexus lineup that helped it finish 2023 strong: the NX, the LC, and the LX. With 74,526 units sold, the NX finished 2023 by selling 52.1 percent more vehicles than it did in 2022. The LC only sold 1,761 units, but that was a 27 percent increase over 2022. The LX saw a 91.1 percent increase in sales for 2023, but only sold 6,959 units.

Selling 114,033 copies in 2023, the RX is the best volume performer for Lexus but that was only an 18.7 percent increase over 2022. The worst performer for Lexus by sales percentage and volume was the RC, possibly the oldest nameplate in Lexus’ history. That longevity doesn’t equal sales, though, and the RC only managed to sell 1,752 units, a 33.8 percent drop versus 2022.

Mazda is a brand that desperately wants to change its image from a fun and sporty brand to a luxury one. It’s just too bad the market seems to disagree as the best-selling vehicle by sales percentage is the MX-5 Miata. When combined, the nameplate sold 8,973 units in 2023 for an increase of 45.4 percent over 2022. The better selling roadster was the cloth droptop MX-5, selling 4,591 copies in 2023 and doing 77.4 percent better than it did in 2022. Even the hardtop MXR sold 22.3 percent better than it did in 2022 with 4,382 units sold in 2023.

Though, that number doesn’t hold a candle to the sheer volume that the CX-5 sold in 2023. At 153,808 units, the CX-5 is still Mazda’s best-selling vehicle, but it only improved on its 2022 sales by 1.5 percent. It’s best by sales percentage was the CX-50 with a 109.1 percent increase in vehicle driving away with new owners thanks to selling 44,595 units in 2023.

Mazda’s worst seller for 2023 was the MX-30—its first and only all-electric and wasn’t even giving a chance to live for a single year. It finishes out its sad run selling only 100 units in 2023, down 69.1 percent versus 2022. Another to end on a sad note is the CX-9. While it lived far longer than that MX-30 did, it sold 49.5 percent less models than it did in 2022 with only 17,451 units sold. Overall, Mazda sold 363,354 vehicles in total and finished out 2023 23.2 percent higher in sales than it did the previous year.

If there is a brand that needs some fresher models, it’s Nissan. Despite that, it ended 2023 on a positive note by selling 22.2 percent more vehicles than it did in 2022 with 834,097 units rolling off dealership lots. Shockingly, its best performing vehicle by volume was the Rogue, with 271,458 units driving away with new owners and selling 45.6 percent more examples than were sold in 2022. The next best seller by total units sold was the Kicks with 66,823 models sold, but only for a 21.8 percent increase over 2022.

The surprise number coming out of Nissan was the 584.2 percent increase in units sold of the GT-R, which sold 390 units in 2023. The Nissan Z, which was brand new for 2022, sold 1,771 examples in 2023 thanks to increased production. The real star of sales percentage increases at Nissan is the Armada. With 21,185 examples going to new owners, it sold 77.7 percent more than it did in 2022.

The other shock for 2023 sales? The Nissan Frontier. You’d think with the Titan gone its sales would increase for 2023 as it would be the only pickup truck in Nissan’s lineup. You’d be wrong as it saw a 23.7 percent decrease in sales versus 2022, selling only 58,135 units in 2023. Either Nissan really needs to make a desperate turnaround on the Frontier, else it may see the same fate as the Titan.

While only offering three models in 2023, Ram wasn’t the worst performing brand for Stellantis, but it wasn’t the savior, either. With 539,476 vehicles sold, Ram finished 2023 down one-percent in sales versus 2022. While it was able to sell 444,926 units, the Ram pickup finished 2023 down five percent versus 2022. The ProMaster City was also phased out in 2023, which didn’t help Ram as the 12,887 examples sold was down 19 percent from 2022. The only positive was the ProMaster van, which sold 81,663 units to replace the City and helped it finish the year 34 percent higher than it did in 2022.

While it may not be everyone’s top off-roading choice, the Subaru brand still does well in the U.S. and that showed with a 13.6-percent increase in vehicle sales for 2023 versus 2022. By the time the ball dropped, Subaru was able to get 632,086 vehicles off dealer lots and into new homes. Topping their charts by sales percentage was the Forester, which sold 152,566 units and that helped its 2023 sales grow by 33.7 percent over 2022. The next highest by percentage was the WRX, selling 32.3-percent more of the sedan than 2022 with 24,681 going off dealer lots and into new homes. While it did sell vastly more Solteras, that 865.4-percent increase was thanks to a stop-sale to fix a recall issue in 2022.

When it comes to volume sales at Subaru, nothing is beating the Outback with 161,814 examples out the door (a 9.9-percent increase over 2022) but the Crosstrek is a very close second with 159,193 out the door (a 2.6-percent increase). Subaru’s worst performer was the Ascent as it sold 4.9-percent fewer copies than it did in 2022, finishing out 2023 with only 60,543 examples going home to new owners. What about its only RWD sports car, the BRZ? It finished out 2023 selling 25.2-percent more units versus 2022 with 4,188 drifting and speeding into new driveways.

Whenever someone asks the public what a reliable vehicle is, the majority of the time they will answer with “Toyota.” With a strong reputation like that, it’s no wonder that Toyota continue to sell nearly 2 million vehicles a year in the U.S., and in 2023 it inched closer to that mark. It only missed by 71,772 units, but that 1,928,228 vehicles sold in the market is a 4.2 percent increase over 2022.

Despite that humongous number, the shot heard round the world from Toyota was the 46.4 percent decrease in sales of the Supra. Many claimed that having a manual would see more people buy it, but it appears that sentiment didn’t run true as only 2,652 Supras were sold in 2023. The only vehicle in Toyota’s lineup to perform worse was the C-HR, which was discontinued in 2022 but still managed to sell 777 units in 2023.

With a new Tacoma on the way, the small Toyota pickup truck still manages to sell over 230,000 units in 2023. It nearly matched its sales performance from 2022 but finished 0.8-percent down in sales with 234,768 examples sold in 2023. The Tundra, despite most people complaining about the performance of the rear suspension, finished 2023 strong with a 20.5-percent sales increase over 2022 and selling 125,185 copies in 2023.

What also surprised us is that some Toyota dealer still had seven 2021 Land Cruisers to sell as brand-new in 2023. According to this report from Motor1, there are still two 2021 V-8 powered Land Cruisers for sale somewhere in the US.

As far as the best-selling vehicle for Toyota, it’s still the Rav4 by volume. With 434,943 units sold in 2023, it finished the year 9.1-percent better than it did in 2022. Its second best is still the Camry with 290,649 examples leaving dealer lots, but that’s a decrease of 1.2 percent versus 2022, but it is outperforming most vehicles that get a refresh like the Camry is getting. How is our Car of the Year winner doing in 2023? It was able to sell 38,052 units by year’s end and outperformed its 2022 sales by 3.4 percent. However, the second most popular car for Toyota is still the Corolla and it showed by selling 4.9-percent more cars in 2023 with 232,370 units going to new homes by the end of 2023.

While many of its beloved cars are going away, Volkswagen was still able to better its 2022 sales in 2023 by 9.3 percent and selling 329,029 units. The best performing by percentage was the Golf R, increasing its sales by 116 percent and selling 3,238 units in 2023. It also means the final year you can get a manual transmission Golf R is ending on a high note.

It’s more playful trim, the Golf GTI, finished 2023 7.6 percent better than 2022 and sold 7,451 examples. The Jetta Sedan is still the volume leader for its cars with 47,408 units sold in 2023, up by 23.9 percent, while the Arteon—being discontinued after 2024—sold 34.7-percent more examples in 2023, but only managed to sell 2,347 units.

Its SUV side is more of a mixed bag. The best performing vehicle sales percentage was the ID4, selling 84.2-percent more vehicles than it did in 2022, but sold 37,789 units. The best seller by volume for 2023 was the Tiguan Long Wheelbase with 76,228 examples going to new owners in 2023, but that is down by 13.9 percent versus 2022. This makes it the worst performer by percentage, but the worst performer by volume was the Atlas Cross Sport with 34,816 models sold and a 22.2 percent increase over 2022. Overall, with the Taos (59,103 units sold in 2023, but down by 0.4 percent versus 2022) and the Tiguan Long Wheelbase dragging Volkswagen’s SUV lineup sales percentage down by 3.1 percent versus 2022, VW did manage to sell 242,387 SUVs in 2023.