Trend Lines

In the last six years the share of light vehicle sales (sedans, station wagons, SUVs, pickups, minvans) in the U.S. that were autos (sedans and station wagons ) versus light trucks (pickups, minivans, SUVs) has declined by 20%.  Autos are now about 30% of all light vehicle sales, in 1990 the percentage was 65%.  Of the top 5 selling light vehicles in the U.S. in 2017, only the Toyota Camry is a sedan and there was not a single American made sedan in the top 20 selling vehicles. 

By far, the top selling vehicle is the Ford F series pickup, selling more than twice the number of the top selling sedan, and 60% more than the next best selling vehicle (the Chevrolet Silverado pickup).  The market has clearly changed, helped by lower gasoline prices, recent changes in CAFÉ (fuel efficiency) standards, and most importantly consumer preferences.  GM recently announced the closing of several manufacturing facilities.  I worked on 2 energy projects in Lordstown, OH where GM built its (once) popular Chevy Cruz and it is painful to hear that GM will be closing that facility after what was a period of renewed optimism in the region.

This entry was posted on November 28, 2018 at 12:24 pm and is filed under Automobiles, manufacturing, retail sales, Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments.

Tags: Auto manufacturing, car sales, consumers