DETROIT -
Pickups are leading the way in an auto market that has steadily grown healthier, according to a recent Forbes.com report. Forbes said two of these trucks, in particular, have been the industry’s top sellers so far in 2010.
The site released the list of top-10 best-selling new vehicles of 2010, and the No. 1 model on the list was the Ford F-Series. There have been 434, 920 units moved.
Coming in second was the 2010 Chevrolet Silverado, which has seen sales of 301,998 units.
Joan Muller of Forbes.com, who wrote the report, said the industry’s year-to-date sales have come close to 9.6 million units. This is an 11-percent year-over-year uptick, she stated.
“After a couple of dismal years automobile sales are slowly improving, fed by a rebound in pickup truck sales and the gradual return of retail consumers to dealer showrooms,” Muller wrote as she began the report.
“Until October the industry’s anemic growth was attributed mostly to fleet sales to governments and corporations. But now automakers are cautiously optimistic that car buyers are coming out of the hole they’ve been hiding in for the past two years,” she added.
The full-year sales expectations are roughly 12 million units, Muller said. Though this would be softer than popular expectations, the market is “most certainly headed in the right direction,” she stressed.
Citing industry executives, Muller explained that the gains in pickups are due largely to a more positive outlook regarding the economy among contractors previously delaying springing for a new truck.
The list of top-10, according to Forbes.com, includes:
1. Ford F-Series (434,920 units)
2. 2010 Chevrolet Silverado (301,998 units)
3. 2010 Toyota Camry (275,844 units)
4. 2010 Honda Accord (236,278 units)
5. 2010 Toyota Corolla (227,822 units)
6. 2010 Honda Civic (215,393 units)
7. 2010 Nissan Altima (187,875 units)
8. 2010 Ford Fusion (178,943 units)
9. 2010 Chevrolet Malibu (175,599 units)
10. 2011 Hyundai Sonata (166,628 units)