Trump tariffs drive last-minute buying. Toyota up 20% and Mazda up 13% in the US in July

On August 1, Japan’s four major automakers reported their U.S. new car sales for July, and all of them sold more cars than they did in the same month last year. A big reason was a rush in demand before possible new tariffs under Trump.

• Toyota sold 218,022 vehicles in the U.S. in July, up 20% from a year ago. Strong sales of hybrid SUVs and pickup trucks helped, along with recovery from last year’s production issues. A recent price hike of about $270 didn’t seem to hurt sales.
• Mazda sales rose 13% to 45,057 units.
• Subaru sales increased 5% to 54,035.
• Honda had a slight increase of 0.2%, selling 121,017 vehicles. Hybrid and electric models did well, but its luxury brand Acura struggled.

Nissan’s U.S. sales for July will be announced in late August, as the company continues restructuring.