Edmunds: SUV still most researched vehicle

The SUV continues to dominate the automotive market, based on the fact it again represented the most researched vehicle on Edmunds.com, the company announced.

However, passenger cars are still an important segment, Edmunds.com added.

The Honda CR-V was the most researched vehicle on Edmunds for the second year in a row, followed by the Honda Accord, Honda Civic, Toyota RAV-4 and Honda Pilot. While the order of popularity shifted a bit, the list of the top 10 most researched vehicles was unchanged from 2015.

Edmunds determined its list of "most researched" vehicles by calculating which vehicles had the most monthly unique visitors to the new car research and inventory pages for that model on both Edmunds' desktop and mobile sites.

"As SUVs become more fuel efficient, shoppers are finding they can have the best of both worlds – utility and fuel economy," said Jeremy Acevedo, Edmunds senior analyst. "But there is still a strong contingent of consumers who love their cars, and it remains an important segment for automakers' investment."

Edmunds analysts predict that the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, Toyota Camry, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla will be the best-selling vehicles of 2016, in that order. This represents a slight shift from 2015, when the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla and Honda CR-V were the top five best-selling vehicles.

Despite the fact that market share of passenger cars is down 10 percent during the first eleven months of 2016 compared with the same period last year, the list of top 10 best-selling vehicles is expected to remain evenly split between trucks/utilities and passenger cars.

"Even as the popularity of SUVs and light trucks soar, given the sheer volume of vehicles sold in the U.S. it will take a major shift in consumer preferences to unseat passenger cars from the best-seller lists," Acevedo said. "And with Toyota preparing to introduce a new Camry next year, it could help breathe a bit of life into a slowing segment."

About the Author