The three best-selling vehicles in America were full-size trucks for over a decade until 2024. But last year, something changed. The gold and silver in the sales race went to the Ford F-Series lineup of trucks and the Chevrolet Silverado, as they usually do. But bronze? That went to a compact SUV.
The Toyota RAV4 took third, and it wasn’t the only SUV to pass by the Ram 1500, which had held third place for more than 10 years. The Tesla Model Y and the Honda CR-V outsold the Ram, too.
Ram executives blamed a fluke of timing. They introduced an all-new 1500 for 2025, but CEO Tim Kuniskis said they didn’t build luxury trims fast enough to satisfy the market at first. But a new analysis says there may be something else at work.
America may have hit “peak truck,” according to analysts from the auto strategy firm Dave Cantin Group (DCG).
Truck Prices Playing a Role
DCG’s annual Market Outlook Report is out for 2025. It concludes that Americans may be on the verge of a slide in truck sales.
The trend “reflects American consumers’ growing struggle to afford a new vehicle,” DCG says. “The average purchase price for cars now hovers around $37,400, for SUVs and CUVs is more than $43,600 and for pickups is $54,600.”
Related: Average New Car Price Fell in January, Up From Last Year
In a 2024 Kaiser Associates survey, DCG notes that just 7% of shoppers said their next new vehicle was likely to be a truck, down from 9% in 2023. SUVs also lost ground, slipping from 44% to 43%.
Sedan Purchase Plans Growing
Sedan purchase plans grew from 26% to 29%. Even hatchbacks and sports cars saw a 1% bump each.
Trucks still held appeal to the youngest buyers. Shoppers between 18 and 24 grew likelier to buy a pickup — 8% were interested in a truck in 2023, but 12% were in 2024. The core vehicle shopping demographic of 35-to-54-year-olds saw truck interest fall and sedan plans rise from 24% to 28%. Buyers over 75 were the most interested in sedans, with their intent jumping from 33% to 43%.
“We see a decline in the number of people who believe their next purchase will be a truck or SUV and an equivalent increase in the number who intend to purchase a car,” says DCG President Dave Cantin. “Add to that the report that inflation hit a 7-month high in January, and we’re seeing even more evidence that peak truck is a real trend to watch.”