America's "Top 20" Best-Selling Cars in 2017

With annual sales of a little over 17.2 million units, 2017 turned out to be a good year for the American automotive industry. Yes, sales were down by a couple of percentages compared to 2016 but it was the third straight year Americans bought over 17 million new cars, a record of sorts. 

Ford continued its winning streak ending the year as America's most popular mass-market brand ahead of Toyota and Chevrolet. Mercedes-Benz won the race for luxury supremacy with BMW and Lexus not far behind. 

Click here for 2017’s ‘Top 10’ best-selling car brands in the United States. 

Delving further into the published sales figures, here we are, this time with 2017’s ‘Top 20’ best-selling cars.  

The Top 20 Cars

Ford F-Series reigns supreme for the 41st consecutive year

The title says it all, doesn’t it? 

Pick-ups have always been one of America’s hotly-contested segments with a rivalry so fierce it has the potential to make or break an entire brand. That Ford has been dominating such a crucial and, more importantly, profitable segment for such an incredibly long time is astonishing. Yes, 2017 was the 41st consecutive year the F-Series has emerged as the most popular vehicle in the United States. With sales of 896,764 units, the aluminium-bodied pick-up truck had its best-ever year in history. It's arch rivals, Chevrolet’s Silverado and Ram’s Pick-Up, are more than 300,000 units behind, further accentuating the iconic truck’s achievement.

Chevrolet and Ram Trucks post modest growth

Just like they did in 2016 and the years preceding it, Chevrolet's Silverado series and Ram's Pick-Up trucks finished in second and third positions respectively. There is still quite a gap to the F-Series up ahead but both these brands would be counting on the upcoming next-generation of these trucks to help bridge the gap. Chevrolet recently showed off its all-new Silverado and the initial reactions are promising while Ram is readying its redesigned series of pick-up trucks for a debut at the 2018 Detroit Auto Show. Will they deliver what is expected of them and challenge the F-Series for American supremacy? A hot contest is brewing up!

The rest of the Top 10

For the first time in several years, Toyota Camry is not America's most popular car after the Big Three pick-up trucks. That honour now goes to Toyota's RAV-4, thanks to the booming demand for SUVs and crossovers. Nissan's Rogue, with a whopping 22% growth over 2016, comes next relegating Toyota's popular sedan to the sixth position. Still, the Camry did well to maintain sales compared to the prior year. The same trend was observed in Honda's portfolio as well with the CR-V edging ahead of the hugely popular Civic that impressively posted an increase in sales versus 2016.

Its quite disappointing to see the royal hammering being handed out to sedans from crossovers and SUVs sharing the same showrooms. Brands like Toyota and Honda deserve appreciation for having lost no hope and putting their hearts and souls in this bodystyle. Be it the Civic, the all-new Accord or the new Camry, the current models are the best these nameplates have seen in decades. Many of these sedans are markedly superior to the crossovers based on them too but the customers seem to hardly care.

Outside the top ten, the same trend was observed as SUVs and crossovers marched ahead leaving the sedans to soak up the dust behind. With significant growth over 2016, the Chevrolet Equinox, the Ford Explorer, the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Subaru Outback gained multiple positions in the Top 20 list. The sedans that were left to bleed were the Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion and Hyundai Elantra. Chevrolet's Malibu was struck off the list by the Toyota Highlander Subaru Outback that makes its debut in the Top 20 list. 

Looking ahead, we wouldn't be surprised if the entire Top 20 list is occupied by SUVs and crossovers as more and more people migrate towards the perceived benefits of higher riding position and better space than equivalent sedans within the same footprint. Until that happens, let's enjoy this sleek and sexy bodystyle that has started counting its days.

Edit: The earlier list inadvertently had the Subaru Outback in the Top 20 instead of the Toyota Highlander that should have actually been there.