F-150

Make
Ford
Segment
Sports Car

Pickup trucks continue to dominate sales in America. It comes as no surprise, then, that America's top-selling vehicles in 2021 so far are the Detroit Big Three, with the Ford F-150 on track to become America's best-selling truck for the 45th year in a row. What is surprising, however, is that millennials (the generation born between 1977 and 1994 that is typically less interested in driving than Baby Boomers) are now the biggest market in America for midsize, full-size, and heavy-duty pickup trucks, overtaking Boomers and Gen-X for the first time.

Speaking with CNBC, Tyson Jominy, J.D. Power vice president of data & analytics, revealed that sales of new cars bought by millennials in America have increased at an "astonishing" rate since the pandemic.

"Demographic information moves very slowly, but last year millennials took over in April during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. We thought it was kind of a blip, but it's only increased since then," Jominy told CNBC. "It shifted overnight, and it has gotten faster every month."

In the US, millennials will overtake Baby Boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) as the largest buyers of midsize, full-size and heavy-duty pickups this year and are on track to beat Gen X buyers (born between 1965 and 1976) as the biggest market for midsize and compact pickups in the US. It's a stark contrast to a couple of years ago when millennials weren't interested in American cars, with the Ford F-150 failing to make the top five cars bought by millennials in 2019.

Why is this happening? According to J.D. Power, the pandemic is a significant factor, as well as the fact that millennials are maturing, getting promoted in jobs, and moving to the suburbs.

EVs are also proving to be popular with millennials in the US. In fact, they are the largest buyers of EVs in America, representing 35 percent of all new EVs bought this year compared to Baby Boomers (29 percent) and Gen X (26 percent). But while millennials are the top buyers in 17 of 27 vehicle segments, Baby Boomers still dominate sales of expensive luxury cars. "The higher the price the vehicle the more likely we are to see Boomers in it," Jominy said.