Photo: Ford
For years, the pickup truck segment in the U.S. has been steadily growing, eating away at the solid foundation of the other segments. Coupled with a decline in interest for sedans, this erosion finally managed to show results.
According to numbers compiled by Autodata and cited by Bloomberg, the month of April marked the first time in history when the number of pickup trucks sold in America was larger than the number of sedans.
So, how big was the gap?
The difference is not huge, of course, but considering the fact that half a decade ago sedans were outselling pickups by the hundreds of thousands, the 17,000 unit difference in favor of pickups today does seem like a big deal.
The news of this happening in the U.S. may seem to have come out of the blue, but that’s hardly the case. With the exception of just a handful of models, sedans have been dropping out of production like flies, and carmakers have made no secret of their plans to go big for the future, whether we’re talking about pickups or SUVs.
The few American-made sedans that are still around, even aided by foreign brands, will likely have a hard time matching the volumes of pickup trucks and SUVs in the near future as well, so expect last months’ development to be just the start of a major change for the American auto industry.
It’s unclear whether the current health crisis has somehow impacted the change on the podium, but it probably did. Different states have been affected in different ways, and the pickups’ rise to power comes on the backdrop of industry-wide sales decrease.
America’s center states, less affected by the crisis, are big fans of pickups. Not the same can be said about the ones on both coasts, where sedans are favored, but restrictions were tougher.
So, how big was the gap?
The difference is not huge, of course, but considering the fact that half a decade ago sedans were outselling pickups by the hundreds of thousands, the 17,000 unit difference in favor of pickups today does seem like a big deal.
The news of this happening in the U.S. may seem to have come out of the blue, but that’s hardly the case. With the exception of just a handful of models, sedans have been dropping out of production like flies, and carmakers have made no secret of their plans to go big for the future, whether we’re talking about pickups or SUVs.
The few American-made sedans that are still around, even aided by foreign brands, will likely have a hard time matching the volumes of pickup trucks and SUVs in the near future as well, so expect last months’ development to be just the start of a major change for the American auto industry.
It’s unclear whether the current health crisis has somehow impacted the change on the podium, but it probably did. Different states have been affected in different ways, and the pickups’ rise to power comes on the backdrop of industry-wide sales decrease.
America’s center states, less affected by the crisis, are big fans of pickups. Not the same can be said about the ones on both coasts, where sedans are favored, but restrictions were tougher.
Google News