The Best-Selling Cars of the Last Year

By Grant Suneson Updated May 27, 10:23AM EDT · Published May 27, 9:00AM EDT

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The Best-Selling Cars of the Last Year — © welcomia / iStock via Getty Images

The U.S. auto market had a challenging year in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand for vehicles dipped as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted people’s ability and will to buy cars amid travel restrictions and economic uncertainty. In 2019, Americans bought over 17 million vehicles. In 2020, that figure dropped to less than 14.7 million, a 16% drop.

In spite of the challenging circumstances, there were still dozens of cars that sold over 100,000 models from the second quarter of 2020 through the first quarter of 2021 — marking a full year of the pandemic’s economic impact.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed automotive sales data from vehicle data site GoodCarBadCar from the second quarter of 2020 through the first quarter of 2021 to determine America’s currently best selling cars.

Of the 38 vehicles that sold over 100,000 cars in the 12 months beginning in April 2020, Toyota has the most models, with seven. Ford ranks second with six best-selling models, and Honda has four models that sold over 100,000 that year. Five other automakers have three vehicles on the list each.

A handful of cars on this list have seen a massive sales resurgence in early 2021 compared to the same time frame a year ago. A number of vehicles — mostly SUVs and crossovers — have experienced sales increases of over 33% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the first quarter of 2020. On the other hand, several vehicles on this list have experienced equally significant sales declines over the same period. These are the cars disappearing the fastest.

Click here to see the best selling cars of the last year.

Ford Edge 2011 (CC BY-SA 2.0) by RL GNZLZ

38. Ford Edge
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 101,437
> Q1 2021 sales: 22,150
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: -25.2%

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Ford Ranger XLT USDM by Rutger van der Maar

Ford Ranger XLT USDM (CC BY 2.0) by Rutger van der Maar

37. Ford Ranger
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 104,671
> Q1 2021 sales: 24,166
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +15.2%

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Volkswagen Tiguan by Ku00c3u0084u00c2u0081rlis Dambru00c3u0084u00c2u0081ns

Volkswagen Tiguan (CC BY 2.0) by Ku00c3u0084u00c2u0081rlis Dambru00c3u0084u00c2u0081ns

36. Volkswagen Tiguan
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 105,776
> Q1 2021 sales: 27,265
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: -14.8%

Hyundai Elantra HD (China) (CC BY 2.0) by loubeat

35. Hyundai Elantra
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 105,823
> Q1 2021 sales: 26,093
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +1.4%

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34. Toyota Tundra
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 106,679
> Q1 2021 sales: 19,134
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: -11.7%

33. Nissan Sentra
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 108,004
> Q1 2021 sales: 37,238
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +55.9%

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32. Lexus RX
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 108,153
> Q1 2021 sales: 27,941
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +34.0%

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31. Hyundai Santa Fe
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 109,425
> Q1 2021 sales: 28,570
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +38.3%

30. Ford Transit
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 122,172
> Q1 2021 sales: 27,451
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: -25.5%

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29. Nissan Altima
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 122,658
> Q1 2021 sales: 32,016
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: -32.4%

28. Honda Pilot
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 131,366
> Q1 2021 sales: 31,451
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +31.6%

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27. Hyundai Tucson
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 133,069
> Q1 2021 sales: 33,147
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +39.7%

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26. Subaru CrossTrek
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 133,387
> Q1 2021 sales: 35,187
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +63.5%

25. Chevrolet Traverse
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 133,488
> Q1 2021 sales: 38,037
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +26.4%

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24. Toyota 4Runner
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 138,243
> Q1 2021 sales: 37,263
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +32.7%

23. Jeep Cherokee
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 140,101
> Q1 2021 sales: 37,922
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +12.6%

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22. Mazda CX-5
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 147,451
> Q1 2021 sales: 36,242
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +2.9%

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21. Subaru Outback
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 162,178
> Q1 2021 sales: 41,503
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +27.3%

20. Ford Escape
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 171,369
> Q1 2021 sales: 40,990
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: -14.8%

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19. Tesla Model 3
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 185,110
> Q1 2021 sales: 23,110
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: -48.1%

18. Subaru Forester
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 185,610
> Q1 2021 sales: 47,694
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +22.0%

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17. Honda Accord
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 198,924
> Q1 2021 sales: 46,591
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: -1.1%

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16. Jeep Wrangler
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 211,290
> Q1 2021 sales: 49,647
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +25.2%

Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited CR... by RL GNZLZ

Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited CR... (CC BY-SA 2.0) by RL GNZLZ

15. Jeep Grand Cherokee
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 214,900
> Q1 2021 sales: 55,197
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +10.2%

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14. Toyota Highlander
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 228,217
> Q1 2021 sales: 63,831
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +33.3%

13. Ford Explorer
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 235,150
> Q1 2021 sales: 65,244
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +15.9%

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12. Toyota Corolla
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 240,485
> Q1 2021 sales: 72,520
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +4.8%

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11. Toyota Tacoma
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 251,618
> Q1 2021 sales: 66,449
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +23.9%

10. Honda Civic
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 253,184
> Q1 2021 sales: 55,903
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: -12.6%

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Nissan Rogue Hire Car (CC BY 2.0) by Tony Hisgett

9. Nissan Rogue
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 254,938
> Q1 2021 sales: 86,719
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +45.2%

8. Chevrolet Equinox
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 260,759
> Q1 2021 sales: 63,218
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: -13.9%

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7. GMC Sierra
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 262,922
> Q1 2021 sales: 62,916
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +18.7%

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6. Toyota Camry
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 295,311
> Q1 2021 sales: 78,151
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +1.2%

5. Honda CR-V
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 346,082
> Q1 2021 sales: 93,766
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +31.7%

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4. Toyota RAV4
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 447,011
> Q1 2021 sales: 114,255
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +17.0%

3. Chevrolet Silverado
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 575,950
> Q1 2021 sales: 126,591
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: -11.9%

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2. Ram Pickup
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 583,707
> Q1 2021 sales: 148,837
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +15.6%

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1. Ford F-Series
> Sales, Q2 2020-Q1 2021: 804,608
> Q1 2021 sales: 203,797
> Year-over-year change, Q1 2020 to Q1 2021: +9.2%

About the Author Grant Suneson →

Grant Suneson is a senior editor at 24/7 Wall St. He was previously a digital content creator at Newsy and a reporter at NPR member station KBIA, where he contributed to their Edward R. Murrow Award-winning coverage. He graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in journalism.

Grant’s work has been published and referenced in many major outlets such as MSN, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, Detroit Free Press, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Austin American-Statesman, The Tennessean, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Indianapolis Star, The Clarion-Ledger, WSB-TV, Des Moines Register, Asbury Park Press, KMGH-TV, and many others.