With many of the pandemic-related supply chain issues starting to resolve, we are beginning to see vehicles return to dealer lots. In turn, we are seeing sales returns for nearly every automotive company in the United States. Toyota sales in 2023 are still high in volume, but, along with Lincoln, the numbers show a concerning trend.

Lincoln, Ford’s luxury brand, has seen a steady 9.81% decline in sales, according to GoodCarBadCar from last year. Toyota has also had similar issues in sales, albeit on a much bigger scale as a mass-market vehicle company. Toyota’s sales are down 1% from last year’s numbers, but again, due to the significant amount of volume from this company, this means Toyota has sold nearly 9,000 fewer units when compared to last year. Here are some reasons why these companies have had issues moving inventory and what can be done to turn the tide.

Lincoln is failing to rebound after a lengthy pandemic

Lincoln hasn’t always been struggling in sales; Lincoln posted solid sales numbers back in 2019 before the pandemic had a full year to affect the automotive marketplace. As explained in The Drive, Lincoln had a few genius ideas before the pandemic took hold. Rivian, yes, Rivian, the electric truck and SUV brand that is taking the world by storm, almost struck a deal to bring a high-end battery electric Linolcn to market.

Lincoln never got an EV at all, which is something they are struggling to get even today. The Lincoln Star, for example, looks promising, but with Car and Driver reporting that these EVs are still years away, Lincoln is left high and dry with no cutting-edge EV.

Lincoln will bounce back, it just may take a while. For now, Lincoln will continue to be a company with a couple of forgettable SUVs and not much else. Lincoln is even going as far as advertising its concept EVs among its regular lineup on its official website. Lincoln’s sales may be down, but remember, this luxury automotive company doesn’t necessarily aim to sell hundreds of thousands of units like other mass-market companies like Hyundai or Toyota.

Toyota sales in 2023 are ready for a jump

When you look at the Toyota lineup, there don’t seem to be any misses at all. The Toyota Corolla is legendary and continues its legendary best-selling compact car status. The RAV4 is still one of the most popular vehicles in the world, and in the U.S., it is the best-selling vehicle that isn’t a pickup truck. So why is Toyota experiencing such a stagnant trend in sales, especially with vehicles like its sports cars?

I would chalk this one up to a lack of inventory on brand-new redesigned vehicles. The Toyota Prius, one of the best-selling hybrids on the market, just got a drastic new redesign and now looks more dynamic than ever before. The Toyota Sequoia and Toyota Tundra also recently got redesigned as well, and with these redesigns, there is always an amount of adaptation on the supply chain side of the industry. New manufacturing and new part manufacturing means that supply may not be as readily available as it used to be.

With Toyota’s sales so far in 2023 trend only showing a small 1% drop in sales, Toyota should be readying itself for an explosive rebound in sales through the end of 2023.