While the car industry as a whole has been shifting away from sedans to SUVs, that doesn’t mean people aren’t buying them anymore. In fact, while some automakers have stepped away from the segment, those remaining are reaping the benefits. Among the biggest beneficiaries is Hyundai. All of its sedans had an excellent August, particularly the Sonata.
They may still be a long way from overtaking the segment leaders from Honda and Toyota, but every little bit counts in the sales race.
2025 Hyundai Sonata N LineJared Rosenholtz/CarBuzz/Valnet
The Sonata Had An Awesome August
Of Hyundai’s two remaining sedans, the midsize Sonata had the most impressive month, switching places with the compact Elantra. Compared to August of last year, Sonata sales jumped by 44% for the month. In raw numbers, that’s an increase from 4,793 to 6,899 cars in August. For the year as a whole, the Sonata is up by 17% from 42,192 to 49,174 sales compared to last year.
As for the Elantra, it didn’t have the huge percentage increase it had last month, or that the Sonata did this month, but it’s still doing well. Comparing August sales this year and last, the Hyundai sold 17,747 Elantras, an increase of 2,465 units. For the whole year, Elantra sales are up by 12% from 102,404 to 114,701. Those numbers also mean that the Elantra remains Hyundai’s second-bestselling model behind the Tucson SUV.
2026 Hyundai Elantra Hybrid Front 3/4 ViewHyundai
How Close Are Hyundai’s Sedans To The Competition?
Hyundai is among the first to publish monthly sales numbers, so we don’t have many automakers to compare directly against yet. However, Honda has also released its August sales, too, and, other than Toyota, it’s a mainstream sedan leader. Even with healthy growth, Hyundai’s sedans do still have large gaps to make up to be on par with Honda. The Civic sold 177,411 units so far this year, leaving a 62,710 car gap with the Elantra. The gap is even bigger between Accord and Sonata, as Honda sold 129,014 Accords, which is 79,840 more than the Sonata. However, neither car saw percentage increases quite as large as the Hyundais, so the Hyundais do seem to be closing the gap.
CarBuzz Insights – Why This Matters
Certainly, the SUV market has proven to be the bigger chunk of the car market pie, but the sales successes seen by Hyundai, Kia, Honda, and Toyota, shows that sedans are far from dead. In fact, there may still be growth potential in those segments, at least for those who have stuck with the segment. With fewer options, people will be driven to whatever’s left.
2025 Hyundai Sonata N LineJared Rosenholtz/CarBuzz/Valnet
The fact that some of these models are among these brand’s top sellers, even in a market that seems to favor SUVs, shows they can be important for an automaker’s portfolio. It’s also always possible for buyers to start shifting away from SUVs and trucks back to more traditional cars. Gas prices could end up being a contributor, for instance, similar to how we saw people move toward small economy cars during previous gas hikes and economic crises.
In other words, we haven’t seen the end of the sedan.
