Summary
- Sales volume is always a good sign a car is popular, but many large volume sellers don’t have huge profit margins on their cars
- Most of the major automakers make between 3% to 10% profit on each vehicle they sell
- In a bit of a strange coincidence, those carmakers that made double digit profit percentages in 2023 were almost all stuck between 11% and 12%
- Only two companies made more than 12% profit per unit sold
- We think that if Q1 2024 is any sign of the trends this year, some companies might be moving up over 12% profit per unit this year
It’s one thing to sell cars and lead volume, production, and delivery ratings. It is an entirely other thing to make money selling cars.
Being a popular or high volume brand does not necessarily mean that said brand is actually making money hand over fist. In fact, most automakers have very tight profit margins, often in the single digit percentages, and only make money by selling a literal ton of cars.
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