🚗 BMW’s Record Year Hints at What Buyers Really Want

đźš™ Used leaders, paperwork preferences, and buyers want what works.

January 08, 2026

TOGETHER WITH

Howdy Friend,

Real quick, before we get into the used market stuff: did you see this news about BMW’s 2025?

They set another record year with 388,897 sold in the U.S. (+4.7%). That’s with EV demand softening (BEVs -16.7%), PHEVs jumping hard (+30.7%), and trucks doing what trucks do.

After all the doom and gloom headlines, brands who know who they are still put real numbers on the board.

Just another reason retail auto is an industry worth fighting to get into.

Alright. Let’s get into it.

Keep Pushing Back,
-Chris with Paul, Kyle & Kristi

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THE NEWS

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Since used cars pay the bills with the factories shut down and the ships stop shipping, it makes sense we should be pretty tuned in to what people actually want to buy. Today’s opening story is a look at 2025’s (unsurprising) market leaders, some survey data on consumer paperwork preferences, and another little collection of brand reporting for your 2nd week of January.

Because let’s face it, it’s a people business, and people almost never stop telling us what they want, if we know how to listen.

Enjoy!

Used Market Snapshot: Trucks Still Lead, but Affordability Is Doing More of the Talking

“Are sedans back in style?” That was our first question when the iSeeCars 2025 rankings hit. The better question might be: is affordability back in style? Because the top of late-model used is still trucks… but one sedan move tells you buyers are watching price and payment closely.

These shares reflect used sales from the last five model years:

Late-model used (still anchored by trucks/SUVs)

  • Ford F-150: 2.8% of late-model used sales

  • Chevrolet Silverado 1500: 2.5%

  • Ram 1500: 1.8%

  • Chevrolet Equinox: 1.8%

The “Affordability” Signal

  • Chevrolet Malibu: jumped from No. 29 to No. 8, reaching 1.5% share
    iSeeCars’ explanation tracks: GM ended Malibu production in 2025, and rental fleets likely pushed more Malibus into the used market. Rare means valuable… right?

Used EVs: Tesla dominates, but the next tier is actively reshuffling

These shares reflect used EV sales from the last five model years:

  • Tesla Model 3: 19.5%

  • Tesla Model Y: 19.3%

  • Ford Mustang Mach-E: 5.0%

  • VW ID.4: 3.9%

  • Chevrolet Bolt: 2.8%

  • Hyundai Ioniq 5: 2.4%

What’s on your must-acquire used inventory list?

What Else Are Buyers Looking at? Paperwork, and a Real Human

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Even with the push to go paperless, CDK’s 2025 F&I Shopper Study shows buyers still want something they can hold:

Paper signatures

  • Preferred: 53%

  • Actually happened: 55%

Physical copies at the end

  • Preferred: 53%

  • Actually happened: 62%

Yes, even Gen Z. CDK’s practical middle ground: keep digital contracting for speed and funding efficiency, but offer paper copies by default when the deal’s done.

CarGurus also shows online financing interest has leveled off: 31% prefer arranging financing online, while 29% prefer getting help in person. For a purchase this big, a lot of buyers still want the hand-holding.

Annual Reports Are Landing: Three Quick Reads

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We’re only in week two of the year, and the scorecards are landing. None of these tells the whole story, but together they help triangulate the scene:

  • Audi: U.S. sales fell to 164,942 units in 2025 (down 16% YoY), after 196,576 in 2024 (down 14%). That makes 2025 Audi’s worst U.S. year of the decade, even below 2020’s pandemic volume (186,620). Broad softness across the lineup, with the Q3 down 27%.

  • Volvo: December sales rose 2% to 75,049. Fully electric deliveries jumped 28% overall in December, including +33% in Europe and +43% in the U.S., but China fell 80%. Full-year volume ended at 710,042 (down 7%).

  • Hyundai: Shares climbed as much as 14.9% to a record high amid market speculation of a deeper Nvidia tie-up after CES. The move is less about one announcement and more about investor appetite for credible “AI + robotics + manufacturing edge” narratives.

AROUND THE ASOTU-VERSE

Dealer Conferences and Industry Events (2026)

Quick Hits

Today in History

  • 1790: First U.S. President George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address. 🎙️

  • 1816: Sophie Germain is the first woman to win a prize from the Paris Academy of Sciences for her paper on elasticity. 🏆

  • 1908: The first subway tunnel connecting Manhattan with Brooklyn under the East River opens in New York City. 🚇

That’s it for today, Friend! Go sell some cars, answer some questions, and make somebody feel wanted in this big, beautiful community.

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