2022 was a tough year for automakers. We won’t go into details about why, as that’s pretty much a given at this point. Now that 2023 is upon us, we can look back at how bad things were in America, and honestly, it could have been worse.
Almost every manufacturer posted a loss for the year, with some like Honda (down 32 percent) and Buick (down 42 percent) taking the hardest hit. Most fell between 10 and 20 percent, although some brands bucked the trend. Subaru fell just 4.7 percent, and Ford was down just 2 percent. If executives at Hyundai and General Motors aren’t throwing parties, they should — both companies are over Top 2 percent over the previous year.
Still, overall new car sales are down significantly from previous years, and that’s seen here in our list of the top 20 best sellers for 2022. Pickup trucks are the reigning champions, unchanged for ages and showing no sign of the cycle ending. anytime soon. However, SUVs are moving towards the top three, and sedans are definitely not dead yet. In fact, one of the top five for 2022.
One brand you won’t see here is Tesla, which is unfortunate because the California-based brand has posted impressive global sales figures. Unfortunately, Tesla doesn’t provide breakout figures for regions or models, but if the company did, we suspect the Model 3 and Model Y would be in the decline. Tesla reported 1.2 million combined global sales for these two EVs.
That said, here are the 20 best-selling vehicles in the U.S. for 2022, based on sales data from auto manufacturers.
A Gazillion is the best-selling vehicle in America for years. even now It had the highest sales of all, although sales were down about 10 percent from 2021.
Ram and Chevy have been swapping the number two spot behind Ford for the past few years. This year, it’s the Silverado’s turn to claim the runner-up spot thanks to a small but notable 1.2 percent year-over-year sales increase.
Coming in third in the full-size truck battle from Detroit, Ram had a tough year with sales down 16 percent.
This is the first of many Toyotas on the list, indicating that the Japanese brand still has a fairly healthy customer base. The RAV4 holds its place as the best-selling non-truck in the U.S., down just 1.9 percent from last year.
Not only does Toyota have the best-selling SUV in America, it also has the best-selling sedan. In a segment that’s barely surviving, the Camry continues to sell well, down 5.9 percent from 2021.
The other popular full-size pickup in the General Motors family, the GMC Sierra, is down just 3 percent for 2022.
The battle for SUV supremacy between the Toyota RAV4 and the Honda CR-V is definitely in Toyota’s favor right now. Honda’s popular people mover took a hard hit in 2022, falling more than 34.1 percent from last year.
The best-selling small pickup truck is the timeless Tacoma. A new model should debut soon, but the current rig still has plenty of fans. Sales were down 6 percent in 2022, an above-average performance given the market.
The iconic Grand Cherokee was reborn in 2022 with a new generation, but that wasn’t enough to prevent a 16 percent drop in sales from 2021.
Scoring four of the 10 best-selling vehicles isn’t too shabby, and the Highlander makes it for Toyota. SUV sales fell 15.6 percent, putting it just behind Jeep.
If the Highlander’s sales had been tighter, the Corolla would still have given Toyota another top-10 finisher. Almost beating the big SUV, the compact car is set to lose 11 percent in year-over-year sales through 2022.
Not all models suffered sales losses in 2021. The Equinox is a success story, with an impressive year-on-year growth of 28.3 percent.
There’s no denying that the Explorer isn’t as popular as it once was, but the SUV that (arguably) started the segment is still bringing home the bacon. Its sales fell 5.5 percent from 2021.
If you remember last year, Rogue was comfortably in the top 10. That was before a 34.7 percent drop in sales by 2022, but it’s still one of the most popular SUVs on the market.
Competition from the Ford Bronco is legitimate, but the Wrangler still has plenty of buyers. Sales were down 11 percent last year, but still far ahead of its crosstown rival (which sold 117,057).
The only South Korean vehicle on the list, the Tucson joins the Equinox in posting strong year-over-year gains. Specifically, sales increased by 16 percent.
Another SUV to beat the system is the Crosstrek, which ended 2022 with a 21.7 percent increase over last year.
Despite a 23.7 percent year-over-year sales decline, the Honda Accord remains a popular sedan. An all-new Accord will arrive at dealerships in 2023.
Mazda is still kicking, and the CX-5 is proof of that. Dropping 10 percent, it still managed to crack the top 20 for US sales.
Last year, the Outback was at the bottom of our best-seller list and the wagon is back again. This year the number is slightly lower, falling 4.8 percent. But it is still more popular than the vast majority of other vehicles sold today.