Fact #493: October 29, 2007
Market Share - Cars vs. Light Trucks

Before the popularity of sport utility vehicles (SUVs), cars dominated the light vehicle market. The graph below shows that the market share for pickup trucks has remained between 10 and 20% since 1975, and the market share for vans grew in the 1990's, but declined slightly in recent years. The market share for cars has declined as the SUV market has increased. The 2006 data show cars having 54% of the light vehicle market, but 2007 estimates show SUVs making a comeback.

Supporting Information

New Light Vehicle Market Share, 1975-2005

Year	Car	Van	Pickup	SUV
1975	80.6%	4.5%	13.1%	1.8%
1976	78.8%	4.1%	15.1%	2.0%
1977	80.0%	3.6%	14.4%	2.0%
1978	77.3%	4.3%	15.6%	2.6%
1979	77.7%	3.5%	15.9%	2.9%
1980	83.5%	2.0%	12.7%	1.6%
1981	82.8%	2.3%	13.6%	1.3%
1982	80.2%	3.3%	14.8%	1.6%
1983	77.8%	3.6%	15.7%	2.8%
1984	76.2%	4.8%	14.5%	4.4%
1985	74.7%	5.8%	14.4%	5.1%
1986	71.8%	6.8%	16.4%	5.1%
1987	72.2%	7.4%	14.5%	5.9%
1988	70.2%	7.5%	16.1%	6.4%
1989	69.3%	8.8%	15.4%	6.4%
1990	69.9%	10.0%	14.6%	5.6%
1991	67.8%	8.2%	15.3%	8.7%
1992	66.6%	10.0%	15.2%	8.3%
1993	64.0%	10.9%	15.1%	10.0%
1994	59.6%	10.1%	18.9%	11.5%
1995	62.1%	10.9%	15.0%	12.0%
1996	60.0%	10.7%	14.9%	14.3%
1997	57.6%	8.8%	16.7%	17.0%
1998	55.2%	10.3%	16.7%	17.8%
1999	55.1%	9.6%	16.7%	18.7%
2000	55.0%	10.2%	15.7%	18.9%
2001	53.9%	7.9%	16.1%	22.1%
2002	51.6%	7.7%	14.8%	26.0%
2003	50.3%	7.8%	15.6%	26.2%
2004	47.9%	6.1%	15.9%	29.9%
2005	50.5%	9.3%	14.6%	25.8%
2006	54.0%	7.7%	14.1%	24.4%
2007	50.9%	6.4%	13.7%	29.0%
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Light-Duty Automotive Technology and Fuel Economy Trends: 1975 through 2007, September 2007

 

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