New car buying in the United States is a large, changing market shaped by vehicle mix, powertrain adoption, generational preferences, inventory and financing. The statistics below distinguish production, registrations, sales, listings, transactions and loans, with dates and definitions kept explicit.
Key New Car Buyer Statistics
These figures summarize the most useful U.S. measures across the supplied periods:
- In 2024, 16.0 million new vehicles were sold in the United States.
- In 2024, new-vehicle volume grew 2% from 2023 in the United States.
- In April 2024, the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate was 15.5 million vehicles in the United States.
- In Q1 2025, the annualized new-registration rate was just over 16 million in the United States.
- For model year 2024, 66% of new vehicles were trucks under NHTSA definitions in the United States.
- For model year 2024, about 50% of production was truck SUVs in the United States.
- For model year 2023, 45% of U.S. production was truck SUVs.
- For model year 2023, 12% of U.S. production was car SUVs.
- For model year 2023, 15% of U.S. production was pickups.
- Combined electrified production reached 11.5% in model year 2023 in the United States.
- For model year 2024, 30% of car SUVs were battery-electric vehicles in the United States.
- In the latest 12-month Experian profile, 50.2% of Millennial registrations were CUVs in the United States.
- In the same Millennial profile, 30.7% of registrations were electric and 24.9% were hybrid.
- In the Experian Boomer profile, 55.2% of registrations were CUVs in the United States.
- In Q4 2024, 12.5% of Millennial new registrations were EVs in the United States.
- At the start of April 2024, the average new-vehicle listing price was $47,240 in the United States.
- In August 2024, the average transaction price was $47,870 in the United States.
- In Q1 2025, the average new-vehicle loan amount was $41,720 in the United States.
- In Q1 2025, the average new-vehicle monthly payment was $745 in the United States.
- For model year 2024, average real-world fuel economy was 27.2 mpg in the United States.
Contents
- Key New Car Buyer Statistics
- New Car Buyer Market Scale and Sales Momentum
- New Car Buyer Vehicle-Type and SUV Trends
- New Car Buyer Fuel-Type and Electrification Data
- New Car Buyer Statistics by Generation and Segment
- New Car Buyer Prices, Incentives and Financing
- New Car Buyer Fuel Economy and Manufacturer Differences
New Car Buyer Market Scale and Sales Momentum
Sales and registration measures describe the market at different points in the purchase process. The 2024 sales total is an observed annual count, while annualized rates express a run rate rather than a simple period total.
- Cox Automotive reported 16.0 million U.S. new vehicles sold in 2024, with volume up 2% versus 2023. Cox Automotive, December 2024
- The April 2024 seasonally adjusted annual sales rate was 15.5 million vehicles in the United States. Cox Automotive, April 2024
- The annualized new-registration rate was just over 16 million in Q1 2025 in the United States. Experian, Q1 2025 Auto Trends Reports Summary
- The projected 2024 production share for BEVs, PHEVs and fuel-cell vehicles was 14.8% in the United States. This is a production projection, not a measure of individual buyers. EPA, Highlights of the Automotive Trends Report
The EPA vehicle-class definition also shows how strongly trucks shape the new-vehicle market. These production shares should not be read as percentages of all people who bought a new car.
| Measure | Period | U.S. share or count |
|---|---|---|
| New vehicles sold | 2024 | 16.0 million |
| Volume growth | 2024 vs. 2023 | 2% |
| Seasonally adjusted annual sales rate | April 2024 | 15.5 million |
| Annualized new-registration rate | Q1 2025 | Just over 16 million |
| Projected electrified production | 2024 | 14.8% |
New Car Buyer Vehicle-Type and SUV Trends
SUVs and other truck classifications account for much of current U.S. production. The EPA’s model-year 2023 and 2024 shares use vehicle categories, so they describe production mix rather than buyer demographics.
For model year 2024, 66% of new vehicles were trucks and 34% were cars under NHTSA definitions. About 50% of model-year 2024 production was truck SUVs. EPA, Highlights of the Automotive Trends Report
The model-year 2023 breakdown provides more detail:
- Truck SUVs represented 45% of U.S. production.
- Car SUVs represented 12%.
- Pickups represented 15%.
- Sedan/wagons represented 25%.
- Minivans and vans represented less than 3%.
- The pickup share peaked at 19% in 1994.
These model-year 2023 production figures come from the 2024 EPA Automotive Trends Report. Manufacturer mixes varied in model year 2024:
| Manufacturer | Model-year 2024 production measure |
|---|---|
| Tesla | 61% car SUVs |
| Mazda | 90% truck SUVs |
| Ford | 42% pickups |
| Nissan | 53% sedan/wagons |
| Stellantis | 9% minivans/vans |
The manufacturer figures are production shares, not market shares or percentages of each brand’s buyers. They are reported in the 2025 EPA Automotive Trends Report.
New Car Buyer Fuel-Type and Electrification Data
Electrified production expanded between model years 2022 and 2023, while adoption differed substantially by vehicle class in model year 2024. BEV means battery-electric vehicle, and PHEV means plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
- Combined electrified production was 6.7% in model year 2022 and 11.5% in model year 2023 in the United States.
- Among model-year 2024 car SUVs, 30% were BEVs and 3% were PHEVs.
- Among model-year 2024 truck SUVs, 4% were BEVs and 4% were PHEVs.
- Among model-year 2024 sedan/wagons, 7% were BEVs and 1% were PHEVs.
- Among model-year 2024 minivans and vans, 5% were PHEVs.
- Among model-year 2024 pickups, 2% were BEVs.
The 2022 and 2023 combined shares are reported by the EPA, while the model-year 2024 class figures come from Highlights of the Automotive Trends Report. These are production measures, not registrations or the share of buyers choosing each powertrain.
New Car Buyer Statistics by Generation and Segment
Experian’s generational measures are registration-based profiles, not percentages of all U.S. adults. The Millennial and Boomer figures below describe the registrations included in each source’s profile and should not be treated as identical to national population shares.
For the latest 12-month Experian Millennial profile, 27.5% of new retail registrations were in the Millennial profile, with the following vehicle and powertrain mix:
- 50.2% were CUVs.
- 12.7% were SUVs.
- 30.7% were electric.
- 24.9% were hybrid.
These figures are from Millennial New Vehicle Insights.
The corresponding Experian Boomer profile reported 28.3% of new retail registrations in the profile. Within that profile, 55.2% were CUVs, 16.4% were pickups, 21.5% were electric and 31.8% were hybrid. Experian, Generational Insights 2024
The reported categories are source-defined registration segments. “Electric” and “hybrid” are retained as labeled by Experian and are not recalculated into a single combined category.
New Car Buyer Prices, Incentives and Financing
Listing price, transaction price, incentive amount, loan amount and monthly payment are distinct measures. Comparing them directly without accounting for their definitions can give a misleading picture of what buyers paid or financed.
| Measure | Period | U.S. value |
|---|---|---|
| Unsold new-vehicle inventory | April 1, 2024 | 2.77 million |
| New-vehicle supply | Start of April 2024 | 72 days |
| Average listing price | Start of April 2024 | $47,240 |
| Unsold new-vehicle inventory | September 5, 2024 | 2.84 million |
| New-vehicle supply | September 5, 2024 | 77 days |
| Average listing price | September 2024 | $46,841 |
The April figures are from Cox Automotive, and the September figures are from Cox Automotive. Cox days supply uses the latest 30-day retail rate.
Additional transaction and financing measures show how the market looked later in 2024 and early 2025:
- The average transaction price was $47,870 in August 2024, and the incentive package equaled 7.2% of ATP, or $3,383. Cox Automotive, September 2024
- The average transaction price was $49,740 in December 2024, while incentives were 8.0% of ATP, about $3,958. Cox Automotive, December 2024
- The average new-vehicle loan amount was $41,720 in Q1 2025, and the average monthly payment was $745 in the United States. Experian, Q1 2025 Auto Trends Reports Summary
New Car Buyer Fuel Economy and Manufacturer Differences
Fuel economy provides a vehicle-outcome measure alongside market and financing measures. For model year 2024, average real-world fuel economy was 27.2 mpg in the United States. EPA, Highlights of the Automotive Trends Report
Q4 2024 Experian registration data also show different fuel-type profiles by generation:
| Generation | Gasoline registrations | Hybrid registrations | EV registrations | Period and geography |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boomers | 74.7% | 15.9% | 6.6% | Q4 2024, U.S. new registrations |
| Millennials | 69.2% | Not supplied in this measure | 12.5% | Q4 2024, U.S. new registrations |
| Gen Z | 74.0% | Not supplied in this measure | 9.1% | Q4 2024, U.S. new registrations |
These fuel-type figures are from Experian’s automotive market trends. The table preserves the supplied measures and does not infer missing hybrid shares or force the categories to sum to 100%.
Taken together, the data show a market where truck SUVs dominate production, electrification is uneven by vehicle class, registration profiles differ by generation, and buyer cost measures depend on whether the statistic describes a listing, transaction, incentive, loan or payment. EPA production shares, Experian registration profiles and Cox Automotive market measures answer different questions and should be interpreted within those definitions.