US auto sales continued strong momentum in August 2025 with new-vehicle sales forecast to hit 1.48 million units, corresponding to an 8.2-year-over-year growth, and consumer spending hit a record at 54.6 billion, as electric vehicle purchases took off and average transaction prices reached a record high of 44,750 amidst ongoing market strength.
August sales continue to roll, even with seasonal problems
A combination of J.D. Power and GlobalData forecasts project total new-vehicle sales in August 2025 will be 1,483,000 vehicles sold in retail and non-retail in total, a 8.2 percent increase over 2024, as released by Motor. The 27 selling days in August 2025 are one less than the 28 selling days in August 2024; thus, the adjusted growth is even more dramatic.
The seasonally adjusted annualized sales of total new-vehicle sales will be 16.1 million units, which is 1.0 million units higher than in August 2024. The retail sales of newly-built vehicles are expected to grow to 1,283,000 in August 2025, which will be a growth of 7.8 percent over the August 2024 sales, and this shows the continued consumer demand in various market segments.
How federal EV credits are promoting a unique electric vehicle adoption
August new-vehicle sales will increase 8.2 percent over a one-year period that also includes a rise of 7.8 percent in retail volume, according to Thomas King, president of the data and analytics division of J.D. Power. The federal credit of up to $7,500 on EVs will end on Sept. 30, meaning that a lot of EV buyers will expedite their own purchases by buying them sooner than they would have otherwise this year.
Eligibility criteria: These are the elements that motivate August’s performance
Based on Cox Automotive, EV retail share in August is projected to hit an all-time high of 12.0 percent, as compared to 9.5 percent a year ago. July saw the EV market surge dramatically, and the trend extended to August as consumers attempted to take advantage of the expiring federal tax credits, with July’s new EV sales reaching a projected 130,082 units.
Labor Day falls on the August sales reporting holiday this year, which is traditionally one of the highest sales volume weekends with high promotional activity by manufacturers. Incentives, however, have remained subdued by manufacturers since tariffs, with incentives as a percentage of MSRP dropping to 6.2 in August compared with 6.3 in January.
How pricing dynamics reshape consumer purchasing behavior
August is projected to have an average new-vehicle retail transaction price of $44,750 with an increase of 985 or 2.2 percent over August 2024. The sales rate is high, coupled with the high average price of transactions implies that consumers will spend almost 54.1 billion on new cars in August, which is an increase of 5.3 percent over the past year and the highest in history.
Cox Automotive projects that August sales will be at 16.0 million monthly, a month-to-month decrease, though not substantial, of July’s brisk 16.4 million, nonetheless, a massive improvement over the 15.1 million of last year. The August volume in new-vehicle sales is expected to be 1.46 million, an increase of 3.9 per cent. over July and 2.3 per cent. over the previous year.
Inventory and financing trends affect consumer decisions
August average monthly finance payments are projected to be 743, an uptick of 13 over August 2024, and the record August figure. New-car borrowing costs stand at an average of 6.40, which is 38 basis points lower than it was one year ago, which is a relief to automobile owners who are experiencing an increased vehicle cost.
August 2025 automobile sales are remarkable in their resilience due to 8.2% growth year-over-year, which is due to record-high EV adoption and elevated consumer expenditure, but future results are subject to headwinds as the federal incentives expire, prices rise, and there are potential inventory limitations as the market shifts to a more difficult fourth-quarter environment.