Light vehicle sales by fuel type - United States 2020

Light trucks with a gasoline-fueled internal combustion engine (ICE) were the most popular type of light vehicle in the United States. Here, gasoline ICE light trucks had an estimated market share of about 52 percent in 2020.

The current state of the U.S. market

In June 2021, light trucks represented 73.8 percent of the vehicle sales in the United States, making it the best-selling vehicle type in the country. A year earlier, in 2020, light vehicle retail sales rapidly dipped to under 14.5 million units. This was a 15 percent year-on-year drop compared to 2019, due to the economic downturn and lower demand brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Motor vehicle production in the U.S. was equally impacted, with the country’s output dipping by 19 percent between 2019 and 2020. Sport utility vehicles had grown to be the most produced type of vehicle, accounting for 40.8 percent of the total production.
The U.S. motor vehicle and parts retail industry boasted revenues of 1.25 trillion U.S. dollars in 2020, an increase compared to the decrease of the overall light vehicle sale volume.

The sustainable vehicle market

Preliminary figures for vehicles from the model year 2020 single out pickup trucks as the type of vehicle with the highest carbon dioxide emission levels, followed by vans. The overall CO2 emissions of new light-duty vehicles have decreased since 2017, but remain over 270 grams per mile for all vehicle types, with Sedans recording the lowest emission levels. Incentives to switch to alternative fuels with lower emission levels in the U.S. can include the annual fuel cost for light-duty vehicles, with all-electric vehicles recording the lowest fuel costs between 500 and 850 U.S. dollars per year as of 2021. However, the cost of fueling hybrid vehicles could climb higher than the cost of diesel-powered units. That same year, one in fifth states was considered an accessible market for consumers wishing to own an electric vehicle.