The average price of all cars, light trucks, and SUVs sold in the United States is slightly above $30,000.

Read: The 10 Cheapest Cars for Sale

But several vehicles sell for 60% less. Almost all of these are light-weight, four-door, four-cylinder cars that get extremely high gas mileage. And among them are 10 vehicles that are sold for under $14,720 — about the cost of adding one carbon ceramic braking system to a single Mercedes E63 sedan.

Every mainstream manufacturer that sells vehicles in the U.S. has to be in the low-priced car business. There are too many Americans who want to pay as little as they can for a car for any large car company to ignore. Of the 13.1 million vehicles sold in the U.S. in the first 11 months of this year, the 10 least expensive vehicles sold a total of nearly 500,000 during the same period.

All of the most inexpensive cars target are or were initially designed for younger Americans with limited budgets. Kia Rio and Soul, two of the cheapest cars, have hip hop hamsters with music at the forefront of their ad campaign. Smart, the minicar manufacturer, was the first to design a campaign specifically for Twitter. Of course, while it’s not necessarily their target demographic, lower-income families and buyers looking for a second car also make up a number of these buyers.

These cars are so important to manufacturers that almost every major car company makes and markets at least one of them — the Chevrolet division of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM), Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda and the smart division of Mercedes-Benz USA. And the two other largest manufacturers offer cars like the Honda’s Civic and Volkswagen Jetta that are priced just slightly above $15,000.

Car analytics group Edmunds.com provided 24/7 Wall St. with the 2013 model cars sold in the U.S. with the lowest starting base prices, or MSRPs. Edmunds.com also provided U.S. sales for each of these models for each year going back to 2007, as well as sales for the first 11 months of this year. We also reviewed specifications on these vehicles primarily from the automaker websites.

These are the 10 Cheapest Cars in America.

10. Mazda2
> Base price: $14,720
> YTD sales: 16,348
> Vehicle type: four-cylinder, four-door sedan

Madza’s newest Mazda2 costs less than $15,000 and gets up to 35 mpg on the highway. Even with all possible optional features added to the more-expensive Mazda2 Touring trim, the car costs under $19,000. According to Edmunds.com, the model is intended to appeal to American car buyers’ current top priorities, price and fuel economy. In 2011, the first full year of sales for the model, Mazda sold 13,952 units. This year, with a full month of sales remaining, the subcompact has already exceeded that number by nearly 20%.

9. Hyundai Accent
> Base price: $14,545
> YTD sales: 58,071
> Vehicle type: four-cylinder, four-door sedan

The Accent is Hyundai’s least-expensive car, costing more than $2,000 less than any other model produced by the Korean automaker. The car has been on the market since 1995, although it was redesigned in 2012 to include additional interior room and a more powerful engine. Even the model’s most expensive trim, the Accent SE, still costs under $20,000 when automatic transmission, a power sunroof and all other optional features are included. In 2007, the Hyundai sold just over 36,000 Accents. Through the first 11 months of this year, Hyundai has already beaten that number by 61%.

Also Read: Next Year’s Best-Selling Cars

8. Kia Soul
> Base price: $14,400
> YTD sales: 108,601
> Vehicle type: four-cylinder, four-door wagon

Kia bills the 2013 Soul as “a new way to roll,” and looks to appeal to young buyers by offering a chrome accented grille and USB jacks as standard on all versions. Although the base model retails for just $14,400, the lowest price for a Kia Soul with automatic transmission is $16,200. Including all optional features and additional costs, the price can exceed $24,000. The Soul has sold very well, and continues to see success. Sales have grown every year since the crossover debuted in 2009. It is also the only model on this list to top 100,000 unit sales for each of the past two years.

7. Toyota Yaris
> Base price: $14,370
> YTD sales: 28,590
> Vehicle type: four-cylinder, two- or four-door hatchback

The Yaris is Toyota’s least-expensive car, costing nearly $2,000 less than Toyota’s top-selling Corolla. But despite the low price and the improved suspension, sales of the Yaris have plummeted in recent years. In 2008, more than 100,000 units were sold domestically. By 2011, Toyota sold less than a third of that number, or just 32,704, and it is on track to move even fewer units this year. Edmunds.com notes that “the first-generation of the Yaris was passable at best,” but that recent models are much-improved and “easy to like.”

6. Chevrolet Sonic
> Base price: $14,200
> YTD sales: 75,257
> Vehicle type: four-cylinder, four-door sedan

The Chevrolet Sonic comes in both a sedan and a hatchback, with the hatchback costing just $600 more. Both models get 40 mpg on the highway, have a turbo engine and were given a five-star safety ranking by J.D. Power and Associates. Sales of the Sonic have fluctuated over the years. In 2007, the model sold 67,000 units. In just two years, the number of cars purchased in the U.S. fell by 45% to just 38,500. However, this year, the car has already sold more than 75,000 units, with a month of sales to go.

5. Kia Rio
> Base price: $13,600
> YTD sales: 37,932
> Vehicle type: four-cylinder, four-door sedan

The Kia Rio comes in two different models, four-door sedan and hatchback. Although the sedan model is the cheapest, with a starting price of $13,600, the hatchback is just $200 more. Edmunds.com notes that while both cars have “identical mechanicals and interior components,” the hatchback provides far more utility. The 2012 model was completely redesigned with more interior space, along with stronger horsepower and fuel-efficiency. Sales of the Rio have been consistent over the years, with the car selling between 20,000 and 40,000 units every year since at least 2007.

4. Ford Fiesta
> Base price: $13,200
> YTD sales: 51,163
> Vehicle type: four-cylinder, four-door sedan

The 2013 Ford Fiesta is available in six different models with the cheapest one, the S Sedan, starting at just $13,200. Some of the other models cost more. The most expensive, the Titanium Hatch, starts at $18,200. All of the models have the same gas mileage of 29 mpg in the city and 39 mpg on the highway. The models all come with electronic power assisted steering and electronic stability control. In 2011, its first full year, Ford sold roughly 68,500 Fiestas. This year, through 11 months, it has only sold 51,150 units.

Also Read: Nine Cars Americans Keep the Longest

3. Smart Fortwo
> Base price: $12,490
> YTD sales: 9,013
> Vehicle type: three-cylinder, two-door coupe

The Smart Fortwo starts at just $12,490, or it can be leased for just $99 a month for the first 36 months. For the environmentalists looking for a new car, the company prominently touts that the Fortwo is made of 85% recyclable materials and gets 38 mpg. The car comes with five-speed smartshift transmission in both automatic and manual mode along with hill start assist.

2.Chevrolet Spark
> Base price: $12,245
> YTD sales: 10,156
> Vehicle type: four-cylinder, two-door

The Chevrolet Spark began sales this year, and it became a nearly instant success. It was the best-selling new car in its debut month of July, according to Edmunds.com. Since its successful debut, the Spark has sold over 10,000 units in just five months, more than the Smart ForTwo did in 11. The Spark comes with a five-year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty.

1. Nissan Versa
> Base price: $11,990
> YTD sales: 102,709
> Vehicle type: four-cylinder, four-door sedan

The 2013 Nissan Versa is the only new model car that will be cheaper than $12,000 when it comes out. The $11,990 cost is for five-speed manual transmission. For four-speed automatic transmission, the car will cost $12,990. For continuously variable transmission, prices start as low as $13,690. The Versa is offered in two different body styles: a four-door sedan and a four-door hatchback. Year-to-date, Nissan has already sold 102,709 Versas, which is more than the 99,730 sold throughout all of 2011.

-By Douglas A. McIntyre, Samuel Weigley, Alexander E .M. Hess

Also Read: Automakers That Will Abandon The U.S.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.