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Northern Ohio dealers in a 21-county area witnessed a 1.3-percentage point increase in August's new car and truck sales compared to 2025 numbers, the Greater Cleveland Automobile Dealers' reported last week.
For the year, the region finds itself behind 3,000 units overall. Total new cars and truck sales last month totaled 19,209 compared to 18,957 in August 2025.
"New vehicle sales in the region eked out a gain for August as the market continues to battle price inflation and high borrowing costs," said Louis A. Vitantonio, association president. "The result has been consumers moving the used car market, which is in line with previous year's numbers.
"We still believe the market will be down slightly as we continue through the second half of the year."
Used vehicle sales of 17,069 in August 2026, while off by 0.30% compared to the same month last year, have narrowed the margin -- sales were down by 4.86% when comparing July 2026 with 2025.
Chevrolet's grip on Northern Ohio's brand choice remains firm, with sales of 2,630 new vehicles in August and 20,695 for the year to date. In second place, Ford's sales total of 2,021 (16,974 year to date) comes in just ahead of Honda with 2,002 sales in the month (15,624 year to date). Kia and Toyota round out our best-selling brands, with 1,774 (13,697 year to date) and 1,519 (12,337 year to date) sales respectively.
Of the five automakers, only Honda (11.31%), Kia (0.94%) and Toyota (1.21%) posted positive gains from August 2025 to August 2026.
With more than 100 sales last month, GMC announced gains of 13.68% compared to the same period last year.
Among dealerships in the Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, the following reported, new car and truck sales surpassing 100 in August: Boardman Subaru (194).Ken Ganley Kia Boardman (129), Cochran Chevrolet, Boardman, (124), Greenwood Chevrolet, Austintown, (114) and Fairway Chevrolet GMC, Calcutta (107).
Ken Ganley Kia Boardman, Boardman Subaru and Cochran Chevrolet hover around the century mark for used vehicle sales in August.
Valley dealers recorded 2,373 new vehicle sales in August compared to 2,323 in the August 2025 period. For the year to date, they are 196 vehicles ahead of last year. Overall, new vehicle sales are 18,415 for 2026, with 18,219 sold last year.
Used vehicle sales last month totaled 2,025 in the three-county area while August 2025's numbers were pegged at 1,967. Overall, used vehicle sales are 15,763 for 2026, an approximately 670-vehicle improvement from last year.
Retail sales figures are based on vehicle registration reports from the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle sales data includes all dealers in these 21 counties: Ashland, Ashtabula, Carroll, Columbiana, Coshocton, Cuyahoga, Erie, Geauga, Holmes, Huron, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Richland, Stark, Summit, Trumbull, Tuscarawas and Wayne.
The association has served the retail automobile industry and community since 1915. Located in Broadview Heights, it represents more than 280 franchised motor vehicle dealers, which include new-car, truck, motorcycle and RV dealers in 32 Ohio counties along the Lake Erie shore and beyond.
More information on the GCADA can be found at www.gcada.org.