My Take on the Zero-Sum New-Vehicle Market in the US: Decades of Stagnation & Decline Interrupted by Steep Plunges

U.S. new light vehicle sales rose 0.5% year-over-year in Q2 2026 to 4.22 million units, but remain down 2.8% for the first half of 2026 compared to a year ago, with the market characterized by decades of stagnation and steep plunges interrupted by sharp declines. General Motors and Ford suffered double-digit percentage drops in Q2 deliveries, while Hyundai-Kia and other non-traditional automakers gained share in what the author describes as a zero-sum market where major U.S. automakers have pursued upscale pricing strategies that have ceded volume to competitors, particularly Japanese and Korean manufacturers.