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2012 Year End Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America

2000 Ford F-150 Interior
Why Do So Many People Still Buy Trucks?
Because The Interiors Are Nothing Like What
You Experienced In This 2000 F-150

13.4% of the new vehicles sold in the United States in 2012 were pickup trucks. A huge chunk of those trucks were Ford F-Series pickups. The F-Series nameplate was responsible for 4.5% of the new vehicles sold in America in 2012. This means the F-Series outsold Ford’s utility division by nearly 26,000 units. (In December, the F-Series outsold Ford’s car division, too.)

And while it’s easy to get caught up in flattering the F-Series over its mighty sales figures, it’s important to recognize how important its role is, particularly given the fact that it’s the best-selling vehicle at America’s best-selling brand. Excluding the Blue Oval brand, the F-Series, all by itself, outsold all but five brands in 2012. That’s one takedown than the F-Series scored in 2011. More new F-Series trucks landed on American roads in 2012 than GMC and Buicks combined.

You get the picture. In this list of the 30 best-selling vehicles in America in 2012, you’ll find four trucks besides the F-Series, one minivan, nine SUVs and crossovers, and 15 passenger cars, including the top-selling Toyota Camry, America’s third-best-selling vehicle overall. Only three of the 30 most popular vehicles in America suffered declining sales in 2012. Ford’s Fusion was late ramping up in second-generation form. The Volkswagen Jetta gained an in-showroom rival in the competitively-priced Passat. And the Chevrolet Impala is as ancient as the hills up which its owners are too old to climb.
U.S. 2012 year end best selling vehicles market share chart
Click Market Share Chart For Larger View

You can find historical monthly and yearly sales figures for these 30 vehicles and every other currently marketed product by selecting a make and/or model at GCBC’s Sales Stats home. Links to pertinent best seller lists are visible at the bottom of this post. As soon as is physically possible, GoodCarBadCar will extend this list to include 235 more vehicles – the final year-end U.S. rankings of all models will be the most popular article on GoodCarBadCar.net for the next few weeks.

For now, study these numbers. Get to know them. Enjoy them. Savour them. Do whatever it is you do with auto sales statistics. These were the 30 best-selling vehicles in America in 2012.

Updated @ 7:01 PM AT on 01.07.2013 with full Prius figures

Rank
Best-Selling Vehicle
2012
2011
% Change
#1
Ford F-Series
645,316 584,917 + 10.3%
#2
Chevrolet Silverado
418,312 415,130 + 0.8%
#3
Toyota Camry
404,886 308,510 + 31.2%
#4
Honda Accord
331,872 235,625 + 40.8%
#5
Honda Civic
317,909 221,235 + 43.7%
#6
Nissan Altima
302,934 268,981 + 12.6%
#7
Dodge Ram
293,363 244,762 + 19.9%
#8
Toyota Corolla/Matrix
290,947 240,259 + 21.1%
#9
Honda CR-V
281,652 218,373 + 29.0%
#10
Ford Escape
261,008 254,293 + 2.6%
#11
Ford Focus
245,922 175,717 + 40.0%
#12
Ford Fusion
241,263 248,067 – 2.7%
#13
Chevrolet Cruze
237,758 231,732 + 2.6%
#14
Toyota Prius
236,659 136,463 + 73.4%

Prius Liftback
147,507 128,064 + 15.2%

Prius V
40,669 8399 + 384%

Prius C
35,733 —– —–

Prius Plug-In
12,750 —– —–
#15
Hyundai Sonata
230,605 225,961 + 2.1%
#16
Chevrolet Equinox
218,621 193,274 + 13.1%
#17
Chevrolet Malibu
210,951 204,808 + 3.0%
#18
Hyundai Elantra
202,034 186,361 + 8.4%
#19
Toyota RAV4
171,877 132,237 + 30.0%
#20
Volkswagen Jetta
170,424 177,360 – 3.9%
#21
Chevrolet Impala
169,351 171,434 – 1.2%
#22
Ford Explorer
164,207 135,704 + 21.0%
#23
GMC Sierra
157,185 149,170 + 5.4%
#24
Jeep Grand Cherokee
154,734 127,744 + 21.1%
#25
Kia Optima
152,399 84,590 + 80.2%
#26
Nissan Rogue
142,349 124,543 + 14.3%
#27
Jeep Wrangler
141,669 122,460 + 15.7%
#28
Dodge Grand Caravan
141,468 110,862 + 27.6%
#29
Toyota Tacoma
141,365 110,705 + 27.7%
#30
Ford Edge
127,969 121,702 + 5.1%

Source: Manufacturers & ANDC 
Red font indicates year-over-year declining sales

Related From GoodCarBadCar.net
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America – 2013 Year End
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America – 2011 Year End
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America – December 2012
Top 30 Best-Selling Vehicles In America – January 2013
U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings – 2012 Year End
Top 25 Best-Selling Cars In America – 2012 Year End
Top 25 Best-Selling SUVs In America – 2012 Year End
Top 16 Best-Selling Trucks In America – 2012 Year End