The Hyundai Kona is just one of the many utility vehicles gaining sales traction in the U.S. these days.
Trucks and utility vehicles continue to take an ever-increasing share of the new vehicles sales in the United States once again during August.
The changes rolled right across the industry changing the balance of sales by brands ranging from Mercedes-Benz to Hyundai. Mercedes, which made its reputation selling luxury sedans, doesn’t even have a pickup truck in its model line but utility vehicles now account for 50% of its sales in the U.S.
Over the years, Hyundai has built its sales on selling efficient, competitively priced passenger cars. However, this year’s, Hyundai, which doesn’t sell any kind to truck in the U.S., has seen its sales of utility vehicles grow to account for 49% of its total sales in the U.S., according to Mike O’Brien, Hyundai vice president of product, corporate and digital planning.
Last year, utility vehicles accounted for 42% of Hyundai’s U.S. sales and South Korean automaker is rushing new models such as the Kona and a new version of the popular Hyundai Santa Fe into showrooms across the country.
(Check out our first drive in the new 2019 Hyundai Santa Fe. Click Here for the story.)
The new E-Pace follows on the success of Jaguar's first-ever SUV, the F-Pace, which is slightly larger.
Jaguar Land Rover has spent billions in recent producing new stylish passenger cars for the Jaguar brand. Jaguar, however, is just barely holding its own in the current market where utility vehicles have become the distinct preference of American consumers.
Land Rover had its best ever August sales month with 7,179 units, an increase of 14% from 6,320 in August 2017; Jaguar sales were 2,469 units, a 20% decrease from 3,101 units in August 2017, due to industry sales trends. Jaguar Land Rover total August U.S. sales reached 9,648 units, a 2% increase from 9,421 units in August 2017.
“We’re pleased that Land Rover has set another record sales month driven by the popularity of the Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, and that our newer SUVs, the Range Rover Velar and Jaguar E-Pace, continue to make their mark in a competitive marketplace,” said Joe Eberhardt, president and CEO, Jaguar Land Rover North America LLC.
(Click Here for more about the Jaguar I-Pace.)
Since millennials are buying a lot of trucks and utes, it appears they are avoiding sedans.
Even popular, trusted stapes of the new car wars, the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, which have been refreshed recently, have struggled as the shift from cars to trucks continues to roll on lifting brands such as Jeep to new heights even as FCA passenger-car brands such as Chrysler and Fiat seem close to drown in the wake of the shift from passenger cars to utility vehicles.
Sales of the Camry dropped 19% and sales of the sales of the Accord sales dropped 11%, according to August sales reports.
“For the first time in U.S. automotive history, monthly car share is on pace to dip below 30%. This is a dramatic shift – car share was near 50% just five years ago,” noted Zo Rahim, Cox Automotive research manager.
(To see more about August’s new vehicle sales, Click Here.)
“With the drop, it’s tough to forecast where share will finally level out, as consumers have decidedly killed the car. Our initial idea of the floor being somewhere in the low-30% neighborhood appears to be too high in a market that loves its trucks and SUVs,” he added.