Relatively inexpensive fuel has lifted demand for trucks and luxury vehicles this year, according to TrueCar.com, which estimates that total sales of high-priced models will far exceed 1 million units this year, the company said in a press release yesterday.
“What we’ve seen is this shift in the market mix away from sedans and more towards crossovers,” Larry Dominique, ALG President, told Auto Finance News last week. “And those in general have a higher MSRP then sedans they’re replacing.”
Based on data from TrueCar, 8.1% of total industry volume this year will be cars and trucks transacting for more than $50,000, up from 6.6% of total sales in 2013.
“Conventional wisdom says German premium brands would dominate the list of top-selling vehicles over $50,000,” John Krafcik, president of TrueCar, said in the release. “The reality is that this price segment of the market is dominated by American pickups and SUVs sold through non-premium brand dealers.”
Ford Motor Co. is, in fact, the leader with its F-Series pickup trucks topping the industry in sales of vehicles with transaction prices over $50,000 by a wide margin, with projected volume of 189,776 units this year, based on TrueCar forecasts.
“What I expect to see in 2015 is gas prices [continue] to decrease as they are. We will probably be financing many more trucks and SUVs,” Assistant Vice President of Consumer Lending, at Navy Federal Credit Union, Joe Pendergast told Auto Finance News. “When gas prices were at record high, it was the hybrids, but now I think we’re going to see a little bit of a turn there. The bigger trucks and SUVs will become more popular, just because gas will be more affordable.”
