Think Strategic: Dashboard-Driven Insight and Storytelling using a Car Sales Scenario

Robert Majdak Sr. M.B.A.

In 2025, U.S. automotive markets experienced a complex blend of consumer preferences, economic forces, and evolving powertrain demand. While electrified vehicles continue gaining traction, combustion-engine passenger cars remained the majority of new retail sales according to industry forecasts, with internal combustion engine vehicles accounting for more than three-quarters of retail unit sales in major months (August & September) of 2025. (J.D. Power)

For analysts tasked with interpreting this landscape, dashboard-driven insight and storytelling became essential. Rather than presenting dry tables or static reports, analysts used dynamic dashboards to bring patterns to life, showing where combustion vehicles sold most and what types buyers preferred.

Regional Patterns in Combustion Sales

The first dashboard view reveals combustion passenger vehicle sales across U.S. regions. The South led sales by a wide margin, reflecting warmer climates, longer driving distances, and strong pickup and SUV demand. The West followed, while the Midwest and Northeast showed smaller shares.

This visual surfaced a simple but powerful insight: although total U.S. retail volumes grew modestly in 2025, major regional differences could inform production, marketing, and inventory decisions. The South’s dominance suggested continued demand for larger vehicles (often combustion), while lower volumes in the Northeast might point to stronger adoption of alternative powertrains in urban centers—a story the dashboard makes immediately visible.

Segment Preferences Among Combustion Buyers

A second dashboard highlights sales by vehicle segment among combustion passenger cars. SUVs dominated the segment mix, followed by midsize sedans, compact cars and pickups. This ordering aligns with broader market trends, where lifestyle preferences and perceived utility increasingly influence buying decisions.

From a storytelling perspective, this visualization does more than show quantities. It helps analysts explain why the South sells more combustion vehicles: that region’s consumer base tends to favor rugged vehicles like SUVs and to  a somewhat lessor degree, pickups. Because dashboards layer visuals with context, analysts can narrate this pattern back to leadership quickly and with clarity.

From Data to Decisions

Dashboard-driven insight and storytelling bridge the gap between raw data and strategic understanding. For 2025 combustion vehicle sales, dashboards revealed not only performance figures but also the narrative threads that explain how different regions and segments shaped market outcomes. In doing so, analysts moved beyond reporting history to guiding future decisions—informing where to allocate inventory, which advertising messages resonate regionally, and how to balance combustion and electrified portfolios in 2026.

In an era rich with data but poor in actionable context, dashboards become the storyteller’s stage. When analysts think visually and narratively, they turn complex data into clear direction.

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References (APA)

J.D. Power. (2025, December). GlobalData forecast: U.S. automotive sales 2025. J.D. Power. (J.D. Power)

J.D. Power. (2025, September). GlobalData automotive forecast: internal combustion engine share trends. Business Wire. (businesswire.com)

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