I didn’t expect these updates for the 2025 Toyota Corolla. We’re getting a new FX Edition, which hearkens back to the 1987 FX hatchback. Unfortunately, this time it’s a sedan, so it won’t have that same treatment. I want to show you some images of this special edition and then discuss the sales figures not only for Toyota in April but also for Honda, Acura, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, and Subaru.
This is going to be a long article, so make sure you have your snacks and drinks ready. First, let’s break down this new 2025 Corolla and the unexpected new information about it.
Design and Features of the 2025 Corolla FX Edition
It’s not unusual to get a special edition, and this FX is pretty cool. It’s doing a little retro grab at our hearts right now. The FX came out before I was even born, so I don’t have any special ties to it, but I love the retro design of the original FX hatchback. Now, let’s talk about what they’re doing here to make the Corolla a little bit sporty.
We’ve got blacked-out accents everywhere: blacked-out Toyota badge, blacked-out roof, blacked-out window surround, black mirrors, and 18-inch wheels that are machine-finished and unique to this FX. There’s also a blacked-out spoiler, blacked-out rear garnishes, a Toyota badge, and dual tip exhaust. This model is also lower, probably about a half-inch lower with lower springs on it. It looks pretty cool overall.
I’m very happy it’s available in, I believe, black underground and one other color called ice cap, which is kind of like a white.
2025 Toyota Corolla Technology Upgrades
Here was a big surprise: the 2025 Corolla comes with a 10.1-inch screen that we haven’t seen before in either the Corolla or the Corolla Cross. This screen is expected to be available in both models for 2025, which is awesome. I was not expecting such a technology upgrade until the new generation of Corolla, likely as a 2027 model year.
The Corolla FX also features a leather-wrapped steering wheel, orange accents on the shift boot, and dash stitching, all based off the SE grade like the XSE. It’s likely that this model gets the larger screen, along with a wireless charger similar to the XSE. There’s that spoiler, looking good, and we have cloth seats with nice orange accents, which are very breathable compared to the XL’s SofTex seats. The orange accents and stitching on the armrest area are pretty cool.
I’m excited for this Corolla FX, and if I keep calling it XT by mistake, I apologize—I’ll do my best to edit that out. But yeah, the 10.1-inch screen is a nice welcome addition to the new Corolla. We don’t have pricing yet, and we don’t have more details about packaging, so stay tuned. We’ll have more information in the fall of 2024.
Toyota Sales Overview
Alright, so let’s break it down. The CW is up 23%, Toyota overall is up 15%, and Lexus is up an incredible 177%. Camry sales were down 7.1%, and you might be wondering why. Well, it’s because of the new model change. Sales of the RAV4 rose by 27%, even though it’s getting a bit old. But that doesn’t seem to stop people—it’s Toyota’s best-selling vehicle in the United States and probably worldwide as well.
Now, Tacoma sales are down by 177%. I’ve talked about this in several videos—why it’s not selling well. We have supply chain disruptions and staffing issues in Mexico, and then there’s the issue of its price. It starts at about $35,000.
I’m driving a Gladiator this week, and my review will be up tomorrow. Honestly, I think I’d pick the Gladiator over the new Tacoma. You might think I’m nuts, but you can get Gladiators for really good deals. They have a bulletproof V6, not a turbo four-cylinder.
They also come with a nice bulletproof ZF 8-speed auto, and you get that cool jeepy vibe. Plus, there’s better space in the back seats compared to the Tacoma.
The Tacoma handles much better on the road, has better road manners, feels more stable, and the steering is much better. But for the money, and where the market currently is, I think the Gladiator is a better buy for Jeep lovers.
Toyota’s Recalls and Scandals
Anyways, let’s keep moving. The Prius is currently on a stop sale due to faulty door handles, which have been recalled. The Tundra’s engine has also been recalled, along with the engine in the Lexus Alex. It’s just kind of a mess for Toyota right now.
On top of all that, there’s a scandal where they’ve been caught modifying safety test results over in Japan. This issue doesn’t seem to affect us here in North America, at least as far as I know.
They haven’t been in the news for many good things lately. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention the stop sale on the Lexus GX and Land Cruisers, which hasn’t been getting much attention either. But on a brighter note, Japanese automakers did report that 39% of their sales in May were electrified vehicles.
Sales Tally and Future Updates
Alright, so here is the tally. I’m not going to get too much into this. If you want to pause here, we’ll probably come back to this, but we’re going to now go into individual models and makes.
Now, Toyota will not publish an official sales document. Automotive News kind of has an inside scoop with their monthly sales, but Toyota will not produce monthly sales until quarter two is over. So, early July, we’ll be able to break down exactly which models are doing great and which ones are not.
Honda and Acura Sales Performance
Alright, so Honda and Acura are up here on the list. Let’s start with them. Sales total is the second-best sales month of 2024. That’s great to see. I don’t want to read too much into highlights, things of that nature. I just love getting into this image right here, which is just their official sales. So, let’s start with the Accord.
The Accord is down 33% on the month of May, 31% on a volume basis, and 33% on a daily selling rate, so that’s not good for the Accord, guys. The Accord is—why is it down so much? That’s really, really worrying. Again, the Camry is only down 7.5% despite it going through a full model change. Alright, the Accord is down 177% on the year.
It’s worrisome. I like the Accord Hybrid, but it is expensive for what you’re getting, especially compared to the new Camry, and the new Camry is a better vehicle overall compared to the new Accord.
Civic and Other Honda Models
So, interesting. Civic, though, is carrying the load—up 48% on the month of May, up 38% on the month. So, the Civic absolutely crushing it. The Civic is a much better buy than the Accord, especially now that the Civic Hybrids are hitting the market, and I cannot wait to drive the Civic Hybrid.
CR-V up 11%, their cash cow, their highest-selling vehicle volume-wise. Even the HR-V, built in Mexico, they’re finally able to get that supply up, up 45% on the year, 47% on the month. Odyssey’s doing well, up 9%. Passport—well, the Passport is a tough recommendation.
It’s really long in the tooth. The Pilot is redesigned, it’s more modern, it drives better, has a newer transmission, etc. So, the Pilot is a much better buy than the Passport as we’re waiting for a redesign on that Passport.
Prologue and Ridgeline
Prologue—they sold 612 units in the month of May, 705 overall for their first fully electric—shouldn’t say the first because the Clarity was fully electric, but the first mass-market EV in the United States.
Pretty much a Blazer EV, right? Ridgeline down 65% on the month and down 26% on the year. Something funny is going on with the Passport Ridgeline. Maybe it’s a supply chain thing. That is really strange.
Acura’s Struggles
Alright, ILX, rest in peace. Moving on to Acura. Integra down 8% on a volume basis for the month, down 177% on the year. It’s not looking good. The problem, I think, with the Integra is that the Civic offers 95% of what the Integra does at a better price, and the market is being crimped a little bit with affordability.
Yikes, not looking good for the Integra. TLX down 75% on the month and down 50% on the year. The TLX just got a refresh. I mean, it was a small one—a bigger screen, still kept the touchpad, slightly revised Diamond Pentagon grille. Down 75%? I don’t—the future is not looking good for that TLX, I hate to say it.
But maybe it’s a supply chain thing too, I just don’t know. Acura is in a tough position right now. MDX had a rebound, it was up on the month of May, but still down 20% on the year. RDX is carrying the brand right now, up 16% on the month of May, up 38% on the year.
Overall Acura and Honda Performance
So overall, Acura down 11% while Honda is soaring at 14%. I’m worried for the TLX, I’m worried for the Integra a little bit right now.
Kia’s Record-Breaking Sales
Alright, we’re getting into Kia here. If you can’t tell, I just got a haircut, so I had to take a break, and we’re resuming the sales of May, this time with Kia. All-time best monthly sales for Kia. EV9, well, just came out. Sportage had the best May ever, and the second-best sales month in company history in May. Holy cow.
Kia Models and Performance
Alright, Sportage, Telluride, Carnival, EV6, and Niro—Niro, oh man, that was a Dodge, right? I saw one last week, it was pretty beat up. But yeah, the Niro had an all-time sales record in May.
People like affordable, fuel-efficient cars, and the Niro, being a standard hybrid, hits that bill well. It also has a plug-in hybrid and an EV variant. Now, Kia doesn’t give us percentages here, but they’ve sold 7,800 EV9s so far this year, sold over 2,000 in the month of May. They’re almost outselling the EV6 at this point. It’s really, really close in sales.
Discontinued Models and New Entrants
Rio, rest in peace. We need affordable cars. Rio, gone from the market. Forte is filling in as best as it can as that entry-level vehicle there in the Forte. Up 8,000 units or so, 7,000 units on the year, up 3,000 on the month, doing great. K5—the K5 sales are non-existent.
I don’t know what’s going on here. 9,000 sales this year compared to 24,000 of last year, and there’s a new refresh on it, but maybe those new refresh models aren’t out yet.
I’m not quite sure what’s going on with the K5. Stinger, rest in peace. Soul, down about 6,000 units so far this year, but it had about a neutral month. So, Soul not doing that great either, but it is one of their volume-selling cars.
Niro and Seltos Sales
Niro, well, had a great month like we said, but it is actually down about 1,500 units on the year so far. Seltos, not as hot for the month of May, down about 1,000 units, and it’s about flat on the year for the subcompact crossover, a very popular segment.
Sportage and Sorento
The Sportage—the most popular segment, the midsize, or some people call this compact, crossover. And then the Seltos, technically midsize. Anyways, Sportage, up 3,000 units on the month, up about 9,000 units on the year.
Sportage kicking ass. Sorento, up on the month, 8,000 units, up about 5,000 units on the year for the three-row. It has just been refreshed. That maybe is helping drive some good volume there.
Telluride and Carnival Performance
Telluride, it’s flat on the month and about flat on the year, and they sell a lot. This is their second-best selling vehicle behind the Sportage. The next best selling after that is the Sorento, and it’s quite a bit behind it. So, Telluride, slightly down on the year, but overall, it’s pretty much neutral.
Carnival had its best May ever, up about 2,000 units, but yeah, they’re up about 4,000 units on the year. They need to make more minivans. We see the demand for the Sienna.
The Odyssey was up 9%, so Kia is doing really, really strong here despite the K5 being just missing in action, the Rio being discontinued, and the Stinger being discontinued.
Hyundai’s Performance and Hybrid Success
Moving on to Hyundai, sister company of Kia. Hyundai Motor Sales, up 12% in May. Year-to-date sales are up 2%, so they’re gaining momentum as we head into summer. Best May for the Ioniq 5 and 6, for the Tucson Hybrid, for the Santa Fe Hybrid. And the Santa Fe Hybrid—I can’t wait to drive it.
I want to drive it so bad because it is an updated hybrid powertrain. It’s more powerful, hybrid, and it gets really good fuel economy with the new Santa Fe. I can’t wait to test that. But the Palisade’s doing well, and the Santa Cruz is too. EV volume for May is up 42% compared to last May.
Mazda Sales Data
For Mazda, unfortunately, it doesn’t look like I have numbers for them, which is surprising. Yeah, they just kind of talk about production and sales, but it doesn’t go over individual model sales, so I don’t have Mazda for you guys, I apologize. But we do have Subaru, June 3rd. Alright, so we’re up to date here.
Subaru reports May 2024 sales. So May sales up 7%. Outback achieves top seller position. Best ever month for the Solterra. Watch my Solterra review. The Solterra is a good buy at $300 a month for a lease payment.
I wouldn’t recommend buying it. Its value is going to plummet, but that’s why you lease EVs. All EVs should be leased, in my opinion. 22 consecutive months of yearly month-over-month growth. So Subaru is on a tear.
Speaking of not a tear, the Ascent is on a descent here, down 19% on the month, down 16% on the year. I honestly think that the Ascent could be replaced with a fully electric version coming out of Kentucky alongside the Highlander EV. I think that could happen, and it would be more competitive than the current Ascent.
Genesis Sales Performance
So going back to Automotive News here, I wasn’t able—I’m never able to pull up Genesis individual model sales. Unfortunately, they were up 5% on the month, up 3% on the year. Genesis selling nearly 6,000 units, which is about half of what Acura is.
Will Genesis catch up to them? No, I don’t think so. But they have more compelling products top to bottom in their lineup compared to Acura at this point. And Genesis killing the G70 soon. It’s not looking good for entry-level sedans as the TLX and the Integra aren’t doing well either.
Conclusion
I’ll see you guys in the comments below. It’s been a pretty busy month for these automakers. Overall, they’re up 10%, which is good news. However, while some models are soaring, others are just disappearing and dwindling, and that really makes me worried about certain aspects of the industry.
When it comes to sports cars and sedans—anything that’s not a crossover—I’m a little bit concerned. Anyway, it was great to get those updates on the Corolla that no one was expecting or even asking for. It’s awesome to have the bigger screen as an option now, and yeah, it’s a great tie-over until we get a next generation in two to three years from now. I’ll catch you guys in the next one. Peace out.
