Small cars stage a big turnaround

…In sheer numbers, small-car sales this year will near 2.5 million, highest since 2001, the data show. Small vehicles of all sorts – including SUVs and crossovers, or CUVs – sell twice as fast as the average of all cars and trucks, Power Information Network reports.

“Small cars and CUVs are going to rule,” says George Pipas, market analyst for Ford Motor. That’s bittersweet news for Detroit, he adds, because 72% of small cars sold are foreign makes. Small cars are also notorious for delivering slim profits.

The big reason behind the small-car shift is no surprise: gasoline prices. Small-car sales were essentially flat until gas prices skyrocketed, then they took off, says Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association.

The sales pace may dampen somewhat with the retreat in gas prices, but AutoPacific says the drop-off won’t be enough to change its estimates.

USA Today