One surprising vehicle is finally rivaling pickup truck popularity

While pickup trucks continue trucks continue to dominate auto sales, one of Toyota's vehicles made a strong showing.

Jan 9, 2024 - 07:30

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One surprising vehicle is finally rivaling pickup truck popularity

In a world fraught with controversy, at least we can all agree on one thing: Americans love their pick-up trucks.

Pick-up trucks have been the top-selling vehicles for decades, as owners touted their power and versatility. In addition, the pick-up truck comes with an aura of rugged individualism that connects with many consumers.

And this is a big country, after all, with a plenty of wide open spaces to explore.

The first American pickup trucks were homemade and came on the scene at almost the same moment as the car, according to Smithsonian Magazine. Farmers built cargo boxes onto the rear end of their automobiles, especially after Henry Ford’s Model T arrived in 1908.

Pickup trucks face a challenge

By the end of World War I, demand for light trucks was soaring and they've been going strong ever since.

However, the pickup is facing a challenge in the form of crossover vehicles, which as the name suggests, is a cross between a car and an SUV.

Crossovers are designed for consumers who wanted the benefits of SUVs, such as increased cargo room, and higher visibility, along with the maneuverability and fuel economy of a compact car.

The Lada Niva, which came out of the Soviet Union in 1977, featured unibody construction, and has been called the precursor to compact crossovers.

The AMC Eagle, which was introduced in 1979, is considered by many to be the first dedicated crossover automobile, while others cite the front-wheel drive 1977 Matra Rancho as a slightly earlier forerunner to the modern crossover.

Americans kept on buying pickup trucks in 2023, but CNBC noted that the Toyota RAV4 (TM) - Get Free Report came in fourth place, behind Stellantis's (STLA) - Get Free Report Ram 1500, the Chevy Silverado and Ford (F) - Get Free Report F-150. The Tesla (TSLA) - Get Free Report Model Y crossover rounded off the top five.

The difference between the Ram and RAV4 was less than 10,000 units sold.

Crossovers coming on strong

This is in sharp contrast to 2020, when the RAV4 undersold the Ram truck by more than 133,000 units. Last year, it lagged by just 9,983, with sales increasing 8.8%. Stellantis sold 444,926 Ram pickups last year, a 5% decline from 2022.

“Trucks are always at the top because they’re bought by not only individuals, but also fleet buyers and we saw heavy fleet buying last year,” Michelle Krebs, an executive analyst at Cox Automotive, told CNBC. “The RAV4 shows that people want affordable, smaller SUVs, and the fact that there’s also a hybrid version of that makes it popular with people.”

The RAV4 debuted in Japan and Europe in 1994, and in North America in 1995, with a launch in January 1996.

The vehicle's name is said to be an abbreviation of “Recreational Active Vehicle with 4-wheel drive, or “Robust Accurate Vehicle with 4-wheel drive.”

Toyota is America's second bestselling automaker, coming in behind General Motors (GM) - Get Free Report and ahead of Ford.

The Japanese automaker first overtook Ford during the coronavirus pandemic and has continued to increase its sales lead since

Overall, U.S. new vehicle sales last year finished at around 15.5 million units, of which electrified vehicles including hybrids made up nearly 17%, Reuters reported, citing data released by Wards Intelligence.

That was the highest since 2019 and surpassed sales of nearly 13.9 million in 2022, according to figures from consultant Cox Automotive.