Total vehicle sales rose slightly over the first half of 2024.
But data compiled by the media outlet Cox Automotive reveals a more than 20 percent jump in consumers buying sub-compact crossover utility vehicles, and almost as large of an increase in sales of compact cars.
Analysts attribute the rise to the equally-smaller price tags for those vehicles, which now include many of the safety features and other amenities larger cars possess.
Ford’s large F-150 pickup truck has long held the top spot as the nation’s best-selling vehicle.
But Ford’s CEO Jim Farley recently told the Guardian website that smaller cars are U.S. automakers’ best chance to compete with relatively in-expensive electric vehicles built in China, noting the battery alone for a large EV costs around fifty-thousand dollars.
