GM sales fell 39,373 in the third quarter, and EVs fell 41,028: its gas vehicles were up 0.3%

General Motors sold 670,974 vehicles in the US in the third quarter, down 5.5% from 710,347 a year earlier, the company said on Thursday. CNBC led with weak electric vehicle demand, and GM's own release pointed to "the much smaller EV market and discontinued vehicles." GM shares were up 0.5% at $77.41 by late morning, according to Nasdaq.

The number behind the number: EVs account for more than the whole decline

GM's model-by-model deliveries table lists 11 electric models. Adding them up gives 25,473 EVs in the quarter, against 66,501 a year ago. That 2025 total matches the record GM reported last October, when buyers were rushing to claim the $7,500 federal tax credit before it expired. Working it through:

EV sales fell by more than GM's total decline. Excluding EVs, GM's sales rose slightly, even with discontinued models such as the Cadillac XT6, which fell from 3,828 to 222, in the base. The Equinox EV went from 25,085 sales to 1,905. The new Bolt added 3,866. EVs fell from 9.4% of GM's sales to 3.8%.

So the 5.5% headline mostly reflects a comparison with an unusually strong quarter last year. It is not a broad slump in demand. GM says the industry's seasonally adjusted selling rate stayed in the upper-16 million range in the third quarter.

Who it actually hits: the trades, not pickup buyers in general

The work-truck lines are where the table gets more mixed. Light-duty Silverado and Sierra pickups rose 9.3% combined, to 156,546. The heavy-duty versions that contractors use for towing and hauling fell 8.8%, to 72,882. Full-size work vans, the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana, fell 25%, to 17,141 from 22,937. GM is still the fleet sales leader and says commercial fleet sales this year are the best since 2023. Even so, GM sold far fewer vans in the quarter.

That matters for the businesses that run on those vehicles. CheckThisBiz lists 27,975 independent plumbers, 40,729 HVAC companies and 25,380 electrical contractors, chains excluded, and most of them work out of a van or a heavy-duty pickup. For a shop pricing a replacement van or a heavy-duty truck this autumn, the useful figures are GM's dealer inventory of 568,151 vehicles at the end of September and its note that next-generation Silverado and Sierra pickups are due in showrooms by year-end. That means 2026 and 2027 models will be on dealer lots at the same time.

Where the buyers went

Hyundai Motor America reported its best third quarter, with 246,896 sales, up 3%, and record hybrid sales for the quarter, up 35%, according to its release. Hybrids were 28% of its September volume. CNBC noted that GM sells only one hybrid, a Corvette, while the national average for gasoline is $4.41 a gallon, according to AAA. Hybrids are the part of the market growing fastest, and GM has almost nothing to offer there. Cox Automotive's forecast had Hyundai Motor Group, which includes Kia, passing Ford in quarterly US sales for the first time.

What to watch: Ford's quarterly figures and Tesla's third-quarter deliveries, both expected shortly, will show whether the EV drop is GM's problem or the whole market's.

Sources: GM Q3 2026 sales release and deliveries table; GM Q3 2025 sales release; CNBC; Hyundai Motor America; Nasdaq quote, 11:53 a.m. ET; CheckThisBiz business counts. EV and segment totals are Chronicle sums of GM's model table. This is market information, not investment advice.