Americans bought slightly fewer vehicles in November as their long love affair with the passenger car continued to be replaced by SUVs, crossovers and pickup trucks, according to industry analysts.
Electric cars, meanwhile, continued to shine brighter, with Honda's 2019 Insight soaring to an all-time sales record with a month left to go in 2018.
Estimated overall sales declines for November ranged from 1.3% by Edmunds.com to 2.6% by Cox Automotive.
J.D. Power said Americans still purchased vehicles at an annualized rate of 17.2 million units in November, down from 17.6 million units both in October and a year ago.
Cox Automotive's chief economist, Jonathan Smoke, said, "Consumers continue to spend, which is supporting economic growth, and low unemployment is driving wage increases. Consumer confidence, while down a bit in November, remains very strong."
Ford Motor Co. sales fell 6.9% during the month, although the company's popular F-Series pick-up trucks produced a record nine straight months topping 70,000 units sold.
"We've never been able to sustain a level above 70,000 for nine straight months and it really speaks volumes to our performance we're having with our pickup trucks," said Erich Merkle, a Ford sales analyst. "No one else in the industry has been able to put together this type of run over a nine-month period of time."
General Motors' sales were estimated at 1% higher in November, although the company did release monthly sales figures. GM announced plans last week to suspend production of most of its passenger cars in the US.
Toyota Motor North America said its November sales slipped by 0.6% on a volume basis and a daily selling rate.
Mitsubishi Motors North America reported a 10.7% sales decline for November over last year.
Subaru of America said it enjoyed its best-ever November sales, with 56,782 units sold for a 9.8% increase over November 2017.
