DETROIT – America maintained its love affair with pickup vehicles in 2023 — however a top-selling car from Toyota Motor almost ruined their tailgate celebration.

Gross sales of the Toyota RAV4 compact crossover got here inside 10,000 models of Stellantis‘ Ram pickup truck final 12 months, a near-No. 3 rating that might have marked the primary time since 2014 {that a} non-pickup claimed one of many prime three U.S. gross sales podium positions.

The RAV4 has quickly closed the hole: In 2020, the car undersold the Ram truck by greater than 133,000 models. Final 12 months, it lagged by simply 9,983. Stellantis bought 444,926 Ram pickups final 12 months, a 5% decline from 2022.

“Vehicles are all the time on the prime as a result of they’re purchased by not solely people, but in addition fleet patrons and we noticed heavy fleet shopping for final 12 months,” mentioned Michelle Krebs, an government analyst at Cox Automotive. “The RAV4 reveals that folks need inexpensive, smaller SUVs, and the truth that there’s additionally a hybrid model of that makes it standard with folks.”

At 750,789 models bought, Ford Motor’s F-Collection pickups, which embrace the F-150 and its bigger siblings, led the trade for the 42^nd consecutive 12 months. They had been adopted by Common Motors’ Chevrolet Silverado pickup with gross sales of 543,780 models.

Rounding out the highest 5 had been the RAV4 at 434,943 models bought and the Tesla Mannequin Y at 394,497, in response to knowledge and gross sales estimates from Motor Intelligence. (Tesla doesn’t disclose regional gross sales by car.) The Mannequin Y moved up one place within the rankings in contrast with 2022.

The success of the RAV4 is notable. It aligns with Toyota’s rising lead as America’s second bestselling automaker, behind GM however outselling Ford annually since 2020.

Toyota first overtook Ford through the coronavirus pandemic and has continued to extend its gross sales lead since, outpacing the Detroit automaker by greater than 250,000 models in 2023.

The Japanese automaker additionally notably bested GM to change into the nation’s top-selling automaker for the primary time ever in 2021 amid main manufacturing and provide chain disruptions attributable to the coronavirus pandemic. GM has since reclaimed its crown and outsold Toyota by tons of of hundreds of automobiles in 2022 and 2023.

Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, mentioned the RAV4 in addition to the Honda CR-V, which ranked sixth final 12 months in gross sales, provide one thing utterly completely different than American pickups: Small, economical automobiles that match many American’s life and budgets amid excessive rates of interest and financial uncertainty.

“It is all these different issues that we have skilled all through the final 12 months that type of drive folks into sensible purchases,” he mentioned. “I feel these automobiles communicate to essentially the most sensible buy you should buy.”

New car gross sales had been stronger and extra constant than anticipated all through 2023, notching the trade’s finest 12 months of gross sales since 2019.

Motor Intelligence studies automakers bought 15.6 million automobiles within the U.S. in 2023, a 12.3% improve from 2022. That compares with greater than 17 million automobiles bought in 2019 earlier than the coronavirus pandemic upending the worldwide auto market.

December gross sales, which had been reported this week, had been surprisingly robust, as automakers upped incentive spending to maneuver merchandise.

Auto gross sales to finish the 12 months elevated 13% in contrast with December 2022, greater than double some analyst forecasts.

Automotive analysts and forecasters count on gross sales this 12 months to be between roughly 15.6 million and 16.1 million automobiles. GM mentioned Wednesday it expects the trade to hit 16 million models bought in 2024.

Listed below are the ten bestselling automobiles within the U.S. by unit gross sales for 2023, in response to Motor Intelligence.