As we head into the final three months of 2026, automakers have announced their latest sales results. Some are monthly reports while others are quarterly—but both are revealing.
Cadillac’s EV-heavy lineup suffered, with sales for General Motors’ luxury brand falling 30 percent in the third quarter. Sales are down 25 percent year over year, while hybrids remain popular as gas prices stay high.
Digging into the data, other bright spots include the Mazda3 and Miata. Infiniti saw sales rise, while the Ford Mustang’s strong results could help it crack 50,000 sales this year for the first time since 2023.
Regardless of what happens for the rest of the year, here are your latest sales winners and losers for September.
Winner: Mazda’s Old Cars Are Still A Hit
Sales for the aging Mazda3 compact increased 146.9 percent last month, with 3,704 sold. Most of those were the sedan variant, but hatchback sales were up 99.1 percent, with 910 sold in September.
Mazda3 sales are up 42.3 percent for the year, with 32,486 sold so far. Even the Mazda MX-5 Miata, another older model in Mazda’s lineup, sold well last month, with sales up 31.5 percent, but its year-to-date sales are up a much more modest 4.1 percent.
Loser: Cadillac’s Concerning Quarter
Cadillac's electric-vehicle sales slipped last quarter, with the Escalade IQ, Lyriq, Optiq, and Vistiq all falling. Lyriq sales fell the most at 50.5 percent. Despite the slide, Optiq and Vistiq sales remain up for the year.
Even sales of the combustion-powered Escalade fell 15.4 percent. Cadillac’s brightest spot was the CT5, with sedan sales up 4.1 percent over the last three months. The brand also recorded the CT5 Blackwing’s best third-quarter sales results ever and is on pace for the model’s best year ever, along with the V-Series brand overall.
- Escalade IQ – -29.2%
- Lyriq – -50.5%
- Optic – -6.9%
- Vistiq – -34.1%
Winner: Ford’s Mustang Rebound Continues
Ford Mustang sales have fallen the last two years, but they are rebounding in 2026. Ford sold 9,960 Mustangs in the third quarter, up 7.5 percent. Year-to-date, sales are up 17.9 percent, with 38,685 sold through the first nine months.
The Blue Oval sold 12,515 Mustangs in the fourth quarter of 2025, and the automaker would need to meet or surpass that figure to crack 50,000 sales. The last time Mustang sales broke 50,000 was in 2023, when the automaker sold 53,159.
Loser: Flailing Fiat
Fiat is struggling in America. Sales for the Italian brand continue to decline in the United States, with just 54 cars sold last quarter, 52 of which were the 500e. The other two were the 500X, which Fiat discontinued at the end of 2023, resulting in an 83 percent decline.
Fiat sales are down 76 percent for the year, with just 291 cars sold. The Topolino began arriving at American dealers in the third quarter, but the automaker didn’t reveal how many it has sold so far. The EV is closer to a golf cart than a real, street-legal vehicle, with just 8 horsepower and a max speed of 19 miles per hour.
Winner: It’s Gotta Have A Hemi
Ram has made a concerted effort to embrace the Hemi V8 engine once again, and the decision appears to be a success. Ram 1500 sales jumped a whopping 73 percent in the third quarter, with 76,650 trucks sold.
Ram has sold over 200,000 1500s so far this year, up 41 percent, with the V8 proving as popular as ever. The recent allocation of the new Rumble Bee sold out in just 90 minutes.
Loser: Alfa Romeo’s Struggles Continue
Sales for the Italian sports car brand continue to decline in the United States, with the latest results showing a 65 percent drop last quarter. Alfa sold just 569 cars over the last three months, led by the Stelvio crossover.
So far this year, Alfa Romeo sales are down 52 percent, with just 2,316 cars sold. The automaker will reveal the 2027 Stelvio and Giulia “buzz” models at this month’s Paris Motor Show, which might help revive the brand.
Winner: Infiniti—And Nissan, Too
Nissan and, by extension, Infiniti’s woes are well known, but the automaker has taken drastic measures to turn things around, and it appears to be working. Sales for Nissan’s luxury brand are up 20.4 percent for the third quarter, its largest quarter-over-quarter increase this millennium and the brand’s best quarter since 2020.
Nissan’s sales were flat in the third quarter, up just 0.2 percent, with 210,635 cars sold. The Rogue remains the brand’s best-selling model, with sales up 26.3 percent ahead of the new hybrid variant launching for 2027.
Winner: The One Person Who Bought A Mitsubishi Mirage
Mitsubishi ended Mirage production with the 2024 model year, and yet the automaker sold one in the last three months. It was the second-cheapest new car on sale in 2024, with a starting price well under $20,000.
With a 39-mile-per-gallon combined rating, we can see the appeal of this tiny, efficient, and cheap compact car two years after its run.
