Ford F-150 dominates top new and used vehicle sales by state
A new study of vehicle sales numbers shows pickups are even more dominant on American roads than you may expect.
If you’ve been awake at any point since the ’70s, it’s a safe bet you know the Ford F-series has been America’s best-selling vehicle, well, basically forever. (For sticklers: 37 years No. 1 overall; the best-selling truck for 42.)
You don’t have to be a gearhead to know that. Ford spends roughly the GDP of Polynesia advertising those facts every year — and will again in 2020, since the F-150 is a lock to lead when the final numbers for 2019 are in.
Waving a “We’re No. 1” foam finger is one thing. Realizing that the F-150 is the top-selling new vehicle in 20 of the 50 largest metropolitan areas and 22 of the 50 states is another.
And that’s just Ford. The Chevy Silverado 1500 pickup is the top-selling new vehicle in nine states, and the GMC Sierra 1500 and Toyota Tacoma each lead in one. That’s 33 states. With a lead like that, who needs the Electoral College?
Among used vehicles, the standings are:
—F-150 leads in 32 states
—Silverado 1500 leads in five
—Tacoma leads in one
CR-V, Equinox, RAV4 lead SUVs
With all the recent talk about SUV sales rising as sedans fall, it’s easy to forget that pickups are the real kings of the road.
Compact SUVs are the most popular new vehicles in 15 states. The Honda CR-V leads in eight, the Chevy Equinox in four, Toyota RAV4 in three.
With numbers like that, you may have forgotten what a sedan looks like. If that’s the case, go to California, where the Honda Civic is the No. 1 new vehicle; or Florida, an officially designated sedan sanctuary where the Toyota Corolla leads.
Among used vehicles, the Equinox is the top seller in four states, RAV4 and Nissan Rogue two apiece and CR-V in one.
Statisticians at iseecars.com, a website that lists millions of new and used vehicles for sale, crunched the numbers on 10.9 million new vehicles sold in 2019 and 8.9 million used vehicles sold in model years 2014-18. The new-vehicle figure represents around two-thirds of where 2019 new vehicle sales will end up.
The statisticians modeled the figures to generate rankings for all 50 states and the 50 largest metropolitan areas.
The research comes with one major caveat that means it actually understates pickups’ popularity, particularly the F-series: iseecars did not include medium-duty pickups like Ford Super Duty, Silverado 2500 and Ram 3500. Ford’s the leader in that segment, so it’s probably even more dominant than iseecars reports.
Top-selling new vehicle in selected metro areas
Atlanta — Ford F-150
Austin, Texas — Chevrolet Silverado 1500
Baltimore — Honda CR-V
Boston & Manchester, NH — Toyota RAV4
Columbus, Ohio — Honda Civic
Houston — Ford F-150
Indianapolis — Chevrolet Equinox
Los Angeles — Honda Civic
Nashville — Ford F-150
Oklahoma City — Chevrolet Silverado 1500
San Antonio — Ford F-150
Washington, D.C. — Toyota RAV4
Top-selling used vehicle in selected metro areas
Atlanta — Ford F-150
Austin, Texas — Ford F-150
Baltimore — Nissan Altima
Boston & Manchester, NH — Toyota RAV4
Columbus, Ohio — Honda Civic
Houston — Ford F-150
Indianapolis — Chevrolet Equinox
Las Vegas — Nissan Altima
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale — Toyota Corolla
Nashville — Nissan Altima
Philadelphia — Nissan Rogue
Washington, D.C. — Toyota Camry
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