This Is the Best-Selling Vehicle in America By Far

Cars and Drivers

Published: March 16, 2021 9:20 am

Car sales, which cratered due to the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020 through the end of last year, have picked up. Sales of some models actually have risen for the combined months of January and February, and those two months were strong for the industry in 2020. The sales of the top-selling vehicle in America, by far, were down in the first two months of 2021. The Ford F-150 posted sales of 119,754 units, which kept it in first place.

F-150 sales dropped almost 14% in the first two months. Its sales count was well ahead of the vehicle in the second spot, the Toyota RAV4 at 67,177, according to Good Car, Bad Car.

Almost every vehicle with high sales volume in the first two months of 2021 was a sport utility vehicle, crossover or pickup. There is nothing unusual about that. These larger models, some of which people in the industry call “light trucks,” have left sales of sedans and coupes behind. The situation caused Ford to eliminate most of its car models, a move it announced in 2018.

The Toyota RAV4 is one of the huge Japanese manufacturer’s inexpensive and small SUVs, with a base price of $26,150. Third in sales in the United States for the first two months of the year, the Honda CR-V had sales of 56,055. It is Honda’s inexpensive, small SUV, with a base price of $25,350.

The fourth and fifth best-selling vehicles for the first two months are Toyota’s two sedans. Sales of the midsize Camry, with a base price of $24,970, were 45,610. Sales of the compact Corolla, with a base price of $20,025, were 41,612. Notably, the price of most of the best-selling vehicles is well below the $37,851 average price of all vehicles sold in the United States in 2020.

The Ford F-150 full-size pickup has been the best-selling vehicle in America since 1981. Introduced in 1948, it has gone through 12 “generations,” or, in other words, major remodeling. The Ford F-Series includes the F-150 pickup, F-250 through F-450 Super Duty pickups, F-450/550 Super Duty chassis cabs and F-650/750 Super Duty Class. Last year, 38% of Ford’s U.S. unit sales were F-Series models.

The F-150 comes in a wide variety of models. The base model costs $28,940. At the high end of the line, the Limited is priced above $73,000.

The sharp drop in F-150 sales in the first two months is unusual. The blame for the fall-off rests with slow shopping due to the pandemic and tight inventories. Sales of the F-Series continue to be so far ahead of the next vehicle on the list based on unit sales that there is no chance it will lose first place this year.