Americans were promised more cheap cars due to increased demand (2 photos)

By the end of 2024, sales of budget cars in the United States have increased sharply. To meet this demand, a number of automakers, including Ford, Mitsubishi, Mini and Ram, have promised dealers to bring more inexpensive cars to the American market in the near future.





Thus, Ford will increase production of F-150 pickups in the second-oldest STX trim level and introduce budget versions of the Escape and Explorer crossovers. By 2025, the Blue Oval has also returned the base version of the Bronco SUV to the product line and is preparing to launch the updated Maverick pickup truck and Bronco Sport SUV.

The Mini brand has promised to reduce prices on some models and return the affordable Oxford Edition version to its title hatchback, which was invented at the end of the last decade in the manufacturer's American office specifically for students and recent graduates of higher education institutions. Ram plans to expand the 1500 pickup family with new inexpensive trim levels, and Mitsubishi has announced a budget version of the Outlander Sport crossover (a local analogue of the ASX).

In recent years, the average price of new cars in the States has been growing: automakers have been massively abandoning the most affordable models and trim levels. This was partly due to a shortage of microchips, against which companies preferred to use microcircuits to produce more expensive and profitable cars. There has also been a trend towards reducing production volumes in favor of increasing product margins. And although the average price has now decreased slightly from its 2022 peak of $46,400, last December, according to J.D. Power analysts, the average monthly payment on a car loan was a record high of $756. As a result, young Americans under 35 have become less likely to buy cars.

Rising inflation and high interest rates on loans have led to an increase in demand for models priced up to $30,000. For example, Ford Maverick sales increased from 94,058 to 131,142 units over the year. Two of Honda's most affordable models, the Civic sedan (242,005 units, up 21%) and the HR-V crossover (151,468 units, up 24%), showed significant positive dynamics. Nissan increased sales of Versa (42,589 units, up 72%), Sentra (152,659 units, up 40%) and Kicks (77,356 units, up 16%) in the US — prices for all three models start below $24,000. Demand for the compact Mazda CX-30 crossover increased by 25% to 96,515 units. The Mitsubishi Mirage family with a base price of $17,965, discontinued at the end of 2024, ended it with a sharp surge in popularity — sales amounted to 29,766 units (up 125%).



A similar situation is now observed in Europe. At the end of 2024, the budget hatchback Dacia Sandero became the bestseller in the region for the first time. At the same time, a year earlier, the best-selling model in the EU was the much more expensive electric crossover Tesla Model Y.