The car market has changed dramatically over the past decade, so much so that most new vehicles on sale today are not actually ‘cars’.
Buying a new one now usually means shopping for an SUV or a truck, which belong to a different category of vehicles.
Traditional cars, such as sedans, now represent just 19 percent of the total new vehicle market, according to auto shopping site Edmunds.
This is a record low – and a sharp decline from a decade ago, when they made up 47 percent of the market.
SUVs now account for a record high of 58 percent of new vehicles for sale as Americans increasingly opt for more space and more features.
“Americans like big SUVs, and they have been the most profitable for a long time,” said Pat Ryan, CEO of car shopping app CoPilot. Money.com.
As manufacturers grappled with supply chain issues during the Covid-19 pandemic, they prioritized these money-making vehicles.
That means there are now more than six dozen SUV models on the market, according to Kelley Blue Book.
Shopping for a new car now technically usually means shopping for an SUV or a truck, which belong to a different vehicle category
The majority of US automakers have now ‘virtually exited the sedan market’ CNN reported.
The only so-called ‘traditional’ car that Ford still makes is the Mustang. And after discontinuing the midsize Malibu in November, Chevrolet no longer makes a new sedan.
American drivers are now looking for more height, cargo space and legroom, and are willing to compromise on mileage, price and handling for the extra space, Ryan told Money.com.
That’s despite the fact that a new full-size SUV costs more than $70,000 on average.
Ryan attributes much of the enormous popularity of SUVs to “crossover” models, which are small SUVs built on a more compact structure.
They have more space than a sedan, but feel more like a car than a large SUV built on a truck frame, he said.
“Cars have really been replaced by the crossover,” he said. “That’s really what happened.”
Traditional cars, such as sedans, now represent just 19 percent of the total new vehicle market, according to auto shopping site Edmunds
After discontinuing the midsize Malibu in November, Chevrolet no longer makes a new sedan
“Americans like big SUVs, and they have been the most profitable for a long time,” said Pat Ryan, CEO of car shopping app CoPilot
Automobiles have also fallen out of fashion as manufacturers produced passenger cars in part to reduce the average fuel economy of their fleets and meet government requirements, Ryan said.
Now they do that with hybrids and electric vehicles.
Research shows that Americans are actually buying trucks that are bigger than they even need.
For example, more than 60 percent of people who own a full-size Ford F-150 pickup rarely or never use their truck for towing.
Only 28 percent of owners regularly use their vehicles to transport bulky or heavy items, Axios reported.
“Americans are bigger people: they like bigger houses and they like bigger cars. It’s part of the psychology of our country,” Ryan said.