Are Minnesotans Leaning Toward Smaller Vehicles?

I like to consider myself a stat guy. I enjoy looking at how things have been going to see what trends can be detected. One trend that has been in place dating back to the pandemic is the cost of buying a vehicle.  

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There was a shortage of parts and chips for quite a while which created a demand and of course prices that went through the roof. That trend has been pretty consistent for the last few years, but it seems there could be a reprieve? 

The Morning Brew reported yesterday that according to information from an article from Axios citing information from Cox Automotive, more and more buyers are making a move to a more affordable vehicle.  

Compact car sales are up 18% from last year. People are trading in their more expensive SUVs, and Pick-Up trucks that have seen their prices grow to unrealistic levels. This trend has caused the overall price of a new vehicle to decrease a little, and it could help bring things back into a more affordable range. 

The article gave the Chevy Trax as an example. This smaller SUV which has a base price of around $22,000, and the sales increased 230% compared to the first six months of 2023.  

At the same time, full-size larger pick-up trucks, which are very popular on the roads of Central Minnesota, saw a decline in sales of 4%. The average cost of a pick-up truck is more than $60,000. And with gas prices that have been up and down, along with interest rates rising, these trucks are less desirable to folks who are paying more attention to their budgets.  

Now, just because sales for trucks are down, they are still likely to be the top sellers this year. Last year the top three vehicles sold were the Ford F-Series, followed by the Chevy Silverado, and the Dodge Ram, all full-size trucks.  

If you’re wondering where Electric Vehicles factor in, this article says that most people still think an EV is out of their price range. Tesla plans to roll out an electric vehicle next year under $30,000 and Ford is reportedly planning a similar type of vehicle for 2027.  

There is a lot of speculation about what the immediate future of the American economy is going to be, the question remains is this trend of going to smaller vehicles an indicator for other things to come. I guess we’ll see soon.