Has America finally hit “peak truck”?
A new report suggests customer tastes are changing, after decades of booming truck sales.
America’s love affair with hulking trucks may be coming to an end. According to a US auto market report out last week from dealership merger specialists Dave Cantin Group and Kaiser Associates, America has reached “peak truck,” with the economic evidence “mounting” that consumer preferences are changing.
At the core of the new trend? Cost.
The survey in the report found that the number of people who believe their next vehicle will be a truck or SUV fell 3% compared to last year, noting that “consumer preferences are finally moving away from trucks and SUVs toward more affordable sedans, driven by concerns over vehicle affordability.”
Keep on truckin’
With the average price of a new truck hovering around ~$60,000, compared to $39,233 for cars, the bang for your truck buck just doesn’t quite cut it like it used to for inflation-weary consumers. If the report’s prediction does come true, it will be calling time on a trend that has dominated America’s streets for decades. As the world’s wealthiest country fell in love with the space, comfort, and utility of bigger vehicles, the share of truck SUVs in the market raced up from 24% in 2014 to 45% a decade later, per data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
That came at the expense of sedans and wagons, which used to dominate the market but now make up only one-quarter of production.
With vehicles like the Ford F-150 dominating sales — Ford says it’s been the bestselling truck for 48 years in America — some American manufacturers have de-prioritized the smaller, typically less profitable car segment. Japanese brands like Toyota and Honda are now producing America’s bestselling sedans.
