THE BREAKDOWN
- The Ford Mustang was America’s best-selling sports car last year, with sales up 3.0 percent to 45,333 units
- Sales for the Nissan Z, Toyota Supra, and Mazda MX-5 Miata increased last year.
- Subaru WRX sales fell by 41.1 percent, while Volkswagen Golf GTI and Golf R sales dropped by over 20 percent.
Sports cars have never been big sellers. They serve a niche segment of the market willing to live with certain compromises in order to enjoy a specific driving experience. Still, fewer customers than are making that choice as sports car sales largely cratered last year—even as some models saw increases.
The Ford Mustang remains America’s best-selling sports car by a wide margin. Sales for the iconic pony car were up 3.0 percent last year. The same can’t be said for the Chevrolet Corvette, which saw its sales tumble 26.4 percent over the last 12 months.
Dodge, which discontinued the two-door Challenger in December 2023 and replaced it with coupe and sedan versions of the new Charger, sold a fraction of the cars it did in 2024. Sales of the Charger / Challenger were down by more than 80 percent last year.
The Nissan Z outsold the Toyota Supra nearly two-to-one, even though Supra sales increased 12.9 percent. Z sales also climbed, jumping 73.4 percent to 5,487 units. The Mazda MX-5 Miata was the only other sports car to see its sales increase in 2025, rising 7.7 percent.
Tariffs & Higher Prices Didn't Help Sales
Volkswagen’s popular hot hatch isn’t as affordable as it used to be, and its sales reflect that. Golf GTI and Golf R sales were down 24.4 percent and 20.9 percent, respectively, last year. Tariffs pushed the Golf R’s price past the $50,000 mark, while the Golf GTI now costs nearly $36,000, about $6,000 more than it did for 2020.
Subaru WRX sales also tanked last year, falling 41.1 percent. The automaker explained in July that it was prioritizing production of the Forester and Forester Hybrid models over the sedan at its Gunma Prefecture manufacturing facility in Japan, and it doesn’t look like that directive changed.
Last year also saw Subaru increase the starting price of the BRZ for 2025 by nearly $1,000 for no real reason, although the coupe now comes with a Sport mode for manual-equipped models. Sales for the BRZ fell by 13.8 percent last year to just 2,881, about a third of the GR86.
While Toyota saw Supra sales jump in 2025, the mechanically similar BMW Z4 basically held steady, with sales dropping by less than 1.0 percent. Toyota sold about 500 more Suprasthan BMW sold Z4s.
| Make and Model | 2025 Sales | 2024 Sales | YoY % Change |
| BMW Z4 | 2,113 | 2,129 | -0.8% |
| Chevrolet Corvette | 24,533 | 33,330 |
-26.4% |
| Dodge Charger | 9,562 | 61,810 | -84.5% |
| Ford Mustang | 45,333 | 44,033 | 3.0% |
| Mazda MX-5 Miata | 8,727 | 8,103 | 7.7% |
| Nissan Z | 5,487 | 3,164 | 73.4% |
| Subaru BRZ | 2,881 | 3,345 | -13.8% |
| Subaru WRX | 10,930 | 18,587 | -41.1% |
| Toyota GR86 | 9,940 | 11,426 | -13.0% |
| Toyota Supra | 2,953 | 2,165 | 12.9% |
| Volkswagen Golf GTI | 7,235 | 11,072 | -24.4% |
| Volkswagen Golf R | 3,319 | 4,196 | -20.9% |
Motor1’s Take: Sports car sales were a mixed bag in 2025, with the Ford Mustang finally reversing its sales slide, but other models weren't as lucky. Affordable sports cars like the BRZ and GR86 saw double-digit declines, while Volkswagen's hot hatches saw an even bigger drop as new car prices continue to rise, putting fun cars out of reach for many.
