After four months of strong gains, commercial fleet sales eased slightly in May but still kept their 2026 momentum, according to a monthly report released by Bobit Business Media on June 2.

Sales variations across the board showed only slight adjustments in either direction.

Commercial fleet sales numbered 351,826 vehicles year to date compared to 328,962 sold through May 31, 2025, up 7%.

Sales activity in the three fleet segments for May 2026 were as follows:

• Commercial fleet sales fell to 76,767 vehicles last month, from 78,058 in May 2025, down 1.7%.
• Rental fleet sales rose 2.9%, from 116,310 rental cars sold in May 2025 to 119,625 vehicles sold last month.
• Government fleet vehicle sales dipped 1.8%, with 21,740 vehicles sold in May compared to 22,129 vehicles sold in May 2025. (The six major Asian-based automakers did not report any government fleet numbers for May.)

Those numbers resulted in total May fleet sales of 218,132, up 0.8% from 216,497 vehicles sold in May 2025.

“Commercial vehicle sales decreased almost 2% in May compared to last year and are up 7% this year,” said Zohaib Rahim, senior manager of economic and industry insights for Cox Automotive. “The decline comes after commercial vehicles saw strong sales gains this year coming into May, and it is too early to determine if this will become a trend.”

Year-to-date sales in the rental, commercial, and government fleet sectors are trending up, with 1,039,302 total fleet vehicles sold in May for a modest 3.1% increase over 1,007,691 vehicles sold in the first five months of 2025.

“The U.S. economy continues its expansion, as the second estimate of first quarter Real GDP came in at an annualized rate of 1.6%, and business investment remains positive, leading to a favorable environment for commercial vehicle demand,” Rahim added.

Bobit Business Media (BBM), owner of Auto Rental News, compiles fleet sales statistics based on aggregate data from the three major Detroit-based auto manufacturers, the Asian Big 6 automakers, and VW. The statistics include cars, SUVs, and trucks.