Americans love their big trucks and midsize SUVs. But if you step back and take a multi-year view, it’s clear that something is changing in America.
Midsize SUV sales are slipping. Full-size truck sales are slipping. Compact SUVs, compact cars, and even subcompact SUVs are gaining ground.
An analysis from Kelley Blue Book parent company Cox Automotive finds that larger vehicles have been losing market share since 2022.
America’s three best-selling vehicles remain the three domestic full-size pickups. The Ford F-Series has been the country’s best-selling vehicle for over four decades. The Chevrolet Silverado takes the silver most years, as it did last year. The Ram 1500 makes the podium in third.
But just behind the Ram sits…a compact SUV. The Toyota RAV4 narrowly missed making the top three last year, with 434,934 sales to the Ram’s 444,926.
Sales of Everything “Compact” Are Growing
If current trends hold, it might take the spot in 2024. Compact SUVs, as a segment, now outsell large trucks and even midsize SUVs.
Every segment that has seen its market share grow so far in 2024 is compact or smaller. Compact SUVs, subcompact SUVs, luxury compact SUVs, and compact cars have all gained market share this year. Midsize SUVs, luxury midsize SUVs, and full-size trucks have all lost. Midsize cars are down since 2022 but up slightly so far in 2024.
Price may be part of the explanation. New car prices soared during and shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic. That, along with soaring interest rates, prodded automakers into trimming affordable cars from their lineups and designing more pricey models for well-heeled buyers.
Even car dealers have begun to push back, telling factories they need more affordable models to meet demand.
Maybe Vehicle Size, Not Taste, Is What’s Changing
But strangely, the size of vehicles most Americans prefer may not have changed much. All segments have also grown in size in recent years, with some of today’s compact SUVs similar in size to the midsize models of 20 years ago.
Today’s compact Honda CR-V, for instance, has an overall length of 184.8 inches. That’s close to the length of the midsize Honda Pilot of 20 years ago (the 2004 Pilot measured 188 inches). Today’s Pilot? Between 199.9 and 200.2 inches, depending on trim level.
It may be that America’s tastes aren’t changing so much as manufacturers keep building bigger cars. They’re getting so big that the model most people prefer is now considered compact.
