SUV, sedan or hatchback: body styles offered by decade
Which share of new car generations was offered as an SUV, a sedan, a hatchback, a wagon, a coupé or a convertible, decade by decade. Our catalog is rich in sports and classic cars, so coupés weigh more than they do on the road.
Key findings
- SUVs and crossovers: 0% of 1920s car generations, 45.2% in the 2020s.
- Sedans peaked at 73.3% in the 1930s and are down to 12.6% in the 2020s.
- Coupés reach 73.4% in the 1960s — our catalog is rich in sports and classic cars, so read the shares as the catalog, not the market.
Data table
| Decade | Generations | SUV / crossover | Sedan | Hatchback / liftback | Wagon | Coupé | Convertible / roadster | MPV / minivan | Pickup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 12 | 0.0% (0) | 66.7% (8) | 0.0% (0) | 8.3% (1) | 41.7% (5) | 83.3% (10) | 0.0% (0) | 8.3% (1) |
| 1930s | 15 | 0.0% (0) | 73.3% (11) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) | 40.0% (6) | 80.0% (12) | 0.0% (0) | 0.0% (0) |
| 1940s | 12 | 0.0% (0) | 41.7% (5) | 0.0% (0) | 8.3% (1) | 33.3% (4) | 58.3% (7) | 0.0% (0) | 8.3% (1) |
| 1950s | 93 | 3.2% (3) | 35.5% (33) | 0.0% (0) | 15.1% (14) | 52.7% (49) | 41.9% (39) | 0.0% (0) | 5.4% (5) |
| 1960s | 192 | 0.5% (1) | 35.9% (69) | 2.6% (5) | 19.8% (38) | 73.4% (141) | 34.4% (66) | 0.0% (0) | 7.3% (14) |
| 1970s | 181 | 2.2% (4) | 36.5% (66) | 12.2% (22) | 19.9% (36) | 67.4% (122) | 11.6% (21) | 0.0% (0) | 5.0% (9) |
| 1980s | 135 | 8.1% (11) | 34.1% (46) | 24.4% (33) | 17.8% (24) | 45.2% (61) | 20.0% (27) | 0.7% (1) | 7.4% (10) |
| 1990s | 235 | 13.2% (31) | 43.0% (101) | 22.1% (52) | 22.1% (52) | 29.8% (70) | 20.0% (47) | 3.4% (8) | 4.3% (10) |
| 2000s | 414 | 25.4% (105) | 29.7% (123) | 21.3% (88) | 13.3% (55) | 22.7% (94) | 12.8% (53) | 4.3% (18) | 3.6% (15) |
| 2010s | 547 | 33.1% (181) | 24.3% (133) | 21.2% (116) | 10.6% (58) | 16.8% (92) | 9.0% (49) | 3.1% (17) | 2.7% (15) |
| 2020s | 270 | 45.2% (122) | 12.6% (34) | 14.8% (40) | 8.1% (22) | 17.4% (47) | 5.9% (16) | 4.1% (11) | 4.8% (13) |
Methodology
A generation counts once for every body style group it was offered in (generation record, its versions or the model record), so shares can add up to more than 100%. SUVs include crossovers; hatchbacks include liftbacks; convertibles include roadsters.
Passenger cars only: trucks, buses and vans are excluded (the same rule as our rankings).
Decades with fewer than 8 generations are not shown; the table gives the number of generations behind every figure.
Values come from the 1CARS catalog. Part of the specifications are extracted from our articles and not yet checked by an editor; obvious outliers are excluded. Figures describe the cars in our catalog, not the whole market.
Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit “1CARS” and link to this page. License terms.