With the cost of new cars getting ever higher, now averaging in excess of $36,000, the number of cars at the cheaper end of the market has steadily decreased while at the other end of the market where the expensive one-off supercars live, the amount of choice has exploded.
To find out just how noticeable these trends on both sides of the market look, we put together a list of brand-new cars on sale in the United States and divided it into vehicles under $20,000 and those priced at over $1 million. Though not an exhaustive list, we counted roughly 18 vehicles available under $20,000 and at least 32 that carry seven-figure price tags. Here's the breakdown.
The list of cars under $20,000 includes the Chevrolet Spark, Chevrolet Trailblazer, Ford EcoSport, Honda Fit, Hyundai Accent, Hyundai Veloster, Hyundai Venue, Kia Forte, Kia Rio, Kia Soul, Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Kicks, Nissan Sentra, Nissan Versa, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Yaris, and Volkswagen Jetta. Among those, the Spark (the cheapest car in the US starting at $14,395) faces an uncertain future, and the Fit, Mirage, and Yaris will all be subtracted from the list soon.
At the other end of the list, the number of million-dollar and multi-million-dollar supercars and hypercars continues to grow. Some come from familiar automakers such as Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, and McLaren, while others come from new automakers you may not have even heard of.
The list of million-dollar rides is quite long and doubtless, we missed a few. This list was tougher to assemble because some of these cars are available to order, but not yet available for customers. It could potentially grow even longer if we included special editions and convertible variants.
The seven-figure list includes; the Apolla Intensa Emozione, Aston Martin DB4 Zagato, Aston Martin V12 Speedster, Aston Martin Valkryrie, Aston Martin Vantage Zagato, Bentley Bacalar, Bugatti Centodeici, Bugatti Chiron, Bugatti Divo, Czinger 21C, Delage D12, Ferrari SP1 and SP2, Glickenhaus 007, Gordon Murray T.50, Hispano Suiza, Hongqi S9, Italdesign Nissan GT-R50, Koenigsegg Gemera, Koenigsegg Jesko, Koenigsegg Regera, Lamborghini Essenza SCV12, Lamborghini Sian, Lotus Evija, McLaren Elva, McLaren Speedtail, Mercedes-AMG One, Pagani Huayra, Pinifarina Battista, Rimac C_Two, SSC Tuatura, Zenvo TSR-S.
Clearly, market trends dictate what type of cars automakers produce. With the average consumer spending close to $40,000 on their new vehicles, typically an SUV or pickup truck, it makes less sense to build low-cost sedans and hatchbacks for less than $20,000. Conversely, if exotic automakers notice that their customers who buy six-figure luxury cars would be willing to spend seven figures on a more bespoke vehicle, they will cater to that market as well. The point of this exercise was simply acknowledging that the car market is drastically changing with fewer options on the low end and far more options at the top.