It’s something of a stereotype that Americans love their cars just how they love everything else: as big and as bombastic as possible.
However, research from financial media site Bloomberg has shed light on just how true this is, and the results might come as pretty mind-blowing to any non-native of the United States.
Despite signs of a trend towards smaller cars as fuel prices rose, when it comes to the vehicles people actually buy, the story is still all about pickup trucks and large SUVs. As the economy gains strength, they’re turning away from cars altogether and buying up trucks of all sizes.
So how addicted to large gas-guzzlers are American citizens? The results might come as shocking in more ways than one:
Pickup trucks rule the road
More than 16.5 million new vehicles were sold in the US last year, a 5.9 per cent rise on the number sold in 2013. By far the most popular model is the Ford F-Series pickup, with 745,000 sold last year alone.
As a result, the F-Series is the top-selling vehicle in the United States for an absolutely incredible 33 years in a row.
By contrast, in the UK only 41,469 pickup trucks were sold in the same period, out of the 2.47 million total number of cars sold. That means that the Ford F-Series is roughly 18 times as popular as every new pickup in the UK.
It’s also outsells Britain’s best-selling pickup truck, the Mitsubishi L200, by a whopping 114 times, after 6,488 L200s were sold in the UK throughout 2014.
There are more F-Series trucks than Volkswagens
In fact, there are more Ford F-Series pickups on US roads than all Volkswagens, Lincolns, Cadillacs and Mitsubishis combined. That’s a whole lot of trucks.
The three top-sellers are all pickups
Following in the wake of Ford’s monopoly on the vehicle market, the Chevrolet Silverado comes in second place, with the Dodge Ram in third place. Together, the top three sellers account for 1.7 million sales, or one in every ten new vehicles sold in the US last year.
Bigger becomes better, cars can’t keep up
Sales of light trucks grew five times faster than cars last year, increasing by a mammoth 10 per cent compared to a mere 1.8 per cent for cars.
For years, sales of trucks and cars have been neck and neck, but last year light truck sales dramatically accelerated, outselling cars by 685,000 vehicles. Midsize cars, including the typical family saloon, actually shrank by 0.5 per cent.
Large SUVS are also selling well
Alongside trucks, large SUVs, which by American standards really are large, are coming into demand following recovery after the recession, with sales up 12.4 per cent in 2014.
Luxury SUVs are doing even better
Top-end SUV models like the Mercedes M Class or Lexus GX 460 jumped up by 14.2 per cent last year, outgunning even popular large SUVs like the Cadillac Escalade.
Saloons appear to be on the way out
Pushed out by the taste for larger vehicles, saloon cars are still bought in large numbers, but that’s swiftly dwindling, with only 3.6 million sold in 2014.
Interestingly, the Toyota Camry was the best-selling car in America for the 13th year running last year, and an American manufacturer hasn’t claimed the top spot since 1996.
Crossovers are the new family car
Even family cars are finding themselves quickly replaced by larger crossover models, with 3.8 million sold last year. Nearly one in four new vehicles bought in the US are now crossovers.
Hybrids are losing their appeal
Once the hottest eco-friendly car on the road, spurred on by celebrity fans, the Toyota Prius has fallen out of favour in post-recession period, with sales dropping by a as much as 11.5 per cent.
Overall, purchases of hybrid electric cars were down almost nine per cent last year, though plug-in vehicles like the Tesla Model S and Nissan LEAF jumped by an amazing 23 per cent last year.
Still, the luxury market is continuing to grow
Sales of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi cars are all rising faster in the States than the overall new car market, showing a demand among certain buyers for high-priced premium vehicles.
And cars for the super-rich are growing fastest of all
Interestingly, despite the massive market for pickups, SUVs and other large cars, sales of halo cars with super-expensive price tags are actually growing faster than any other vehicle market in the US.
Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Maserati, Lamborghini, Porsche and Ferrari sales, which make up less than one per cent of all US vehicle sales, grew a combined 25 per cent throughout last year.
With Ford’s head-turning GT hypercar due to land next year with an expected six-figure sticker price, it looks like it might find itself in good company after all.
