It’s an article of faith and conventional wisdom by now: America is a nation of pickup trucks. But it may be changing. For the first time in more than a decade, something other than a full-size pickup is on pace to finish the year among the three best-selling vehicles in America.
The Toyota RAV4 is comfortably third in the sales race, a position that has long belonged to the Ram 1500.
The Top 10 Through Three Quarters
Through the third quarter of 2024, the 10 best-selling vehicles in America are:
| Rank | Model | Sales Through Q3 |
| 1 | Ford F-Series | 550,835 |
| 2 | Chevrolet Silverado | 413,396 |
| 3 | Toyota RAV4 | 350,331 |
| 4 | Honda CR-V | 298,164 |
| 5 | Tesla Model Y | 284,831 |
| 6 | Ram 1500 | 268,666 |
| 7 | GMC Sierra | 229,398 |
| 8 | Toyota Camry | 227,576 |
| 9 | Nissan Rogue | 189,516 |
| 10 | Honda Civic | 188,412 |
As always, there’s a technical wrinkle in the data. General Motors sells two full-size trucks that are functionally almost one model — the Chevrolet Silverado and the ritzier GMC Sierra. Through the third quarter, GM has posted 413,396 Silverado sales and 229,398 Sierra sales. If the two were treated as one, they’d take first place with nearly 643,000.
Rise of the Compact SUV, or Fall of the Ram?
The big news is the Ram 1500’s sales drop. At this time last year, Ram reported 332,440 truck sales. This year, sales are almost 20% lower.
The three best-selling full-size trucks — the Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram 1500 — have stood on the podium steps together for over a decade.
Now, the Ram has fallen to sixth, behind three compact SUVs – the Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Tesla Model Y. The last time anything other than a full-size truck earned a place in the top three was in 2013 when the Toyota Camry took third.
Ram will try to retake the bronze next year. The company has a substantially (though not entirely) new truck coming for 2025.
The rise of the compact SUV may be the automotive story of 2024. Not one, but three compact SUVs have jumped ahead of the Ram truck. Compact SUVs play much the same role in 2024 as the Camry did in 2013, with similar passenger space to the midsize cars of the last decade.
Price is also a factor. In September, the average full-size truck sold for over $65,000, while compact SUVs generally have sticker prices under $45,000.