By Bud Wells

Ford F-Series, Toyota Camry and RAV4 maintained their customary positions atop the sales charts for U.S. light-vehicle trucks, cars and SUV/crossovers for the year 2021.

A serious computer chip shortage, added to the Covid-19 pandemic’s second year, slowed production and resulted in sales total of 15 million; a rise from the 14.5-million count the previous year, but painfully short of the normal 17-plus-million per year.

Ford has led truck sales for more than 40 years, Camry has led car sales every year but one over the past 25 years and the RAV4 has been tops among SUVs/crossovers for five years. Behind the Ford F-Series total of 726,004 was the Ram 1500 with 569,388 and Chevrolet Silverado 519,774. Toyota Camry’s 313,795 sales topped the Honda Civic’s 263,787 and Toyota Corolla’s 248,993. Toyota RAV4 sold 407,739 crossovers, followed by Honda CR-V with 361,271 and Nissan Rogue 285,602.

Against the pandemic/chip production shortage, three in the long SUV list of models – Nissan Rogue, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Honda HR-V – increased sales by 50,000-plus during the year.

The Toyota Sienna, after converting to gas/electric hybrid-only, edged the Chrysler Pacifica, 107,990 to 98,323 for sales-best among minivans.

Tesla, with its 10-year lead in all-electric production, far outdistanced that field, reporting sales of 172,700 Model Y, 128,600 Model 3, followed by Ford Mustang Mach-E 27,164 Chevrolet Bolt 24,828, Volkswagen ID.4 16,742 and Nissan Leaf 14,239.

Following are sales by model category for 2021:

CARS –

1. Toyota Camry 313,795;
2. Honda Civic 263,787;
3. Toyota Corolla 248,993;
4. Honda Accord 202,676;
5. Nissan Sentra 127,861;
6. Hyundai Elantra 124,422;
7. Kia Forte 115,929;
8. Nissan Altima 103,777;
9. Kia K5/Optima 92,342;
10. Dodge Charger 78,389;
11. Kia Soul 75,126;
12. Volkswagen Jetta 61,967;
13. Nissan Versa 60,913;
14. Toyota Prius 59,010;
15. Dodge Challenger 54,314;
16. Ford Mustang 52,414;
17. BMW 3 series 49,461;
18. Lexus ES 45,406;
19. Chevrolet Malibu 39,376;
20. Mazda3 37,653;
21. Subaru Impreza 34,791;
22. Chevrolet Corvette 33,041;
23. Kia Rio 31,362;
24. Mercedes C-Class 30,815;
25. Subaru WRX 27,141;
26. Acura TLX 26,100;
27. BMW 5 series 24,523;
28. Chevrolet Spark 24,459;
29. Volkswagen Passat 24,396;
30. BMW 4 series 22,937;
31. Subaru Legacy 22,766;
32. Mitsubishi Mirage 22,741;
33. Lexus IS 21,998;
34. Chevrolet Camaro 21,893;
35. Mercedes E-Class 20,947;
36. Hyundai Ioniq 19,885;
37. Hyundai Accent 19,614;
38. Mini Cooper S 19,490;
39. Toyota Avalon 19,460;
40. Honda Insight 19,431;
41. Audi A5/S5 17,408;  
42. Chrysler 300 16,662;
43. Nissan Maxima 16,386;
44. Audi A4/S4 16,263;
45. Mazda6 16,214;
46. BMW 2 series 15,683;
47. Mercedes S-Class 14,282.

SUVs –

1. Toyota RAV4 407,739;
2. Honda CR-V 361,271;
3. Nissan Rogue 285,602;
4. Jeep Grand Cherokee 264,444;
5. Toyota Highlander 264,128;
6. Ford Explorer 219,871;
7. Jeep Wrangler 204,609;
8. Mazda CX-5 168,383;
9. Chevrolet Equinox 165,323;
10. Subaru Forester 154,723;
11. Subaru Outback 154,623;
12. Hyundai Tucson 150,949;
13. Ford Escape 145,415;
14. Toyota 4Runner 144,696;
15. Honda Pilot 143,062;
16. Honda HR-V 137,090;
17. Subaru Crosstrek 127,466;
18. Chevrolet Traverse 116,250;
19. Volkswagen Atlas 115,687;
20. Lexus RX 115,320;
21. Hyundai Santa Fe 112,071;
22. Volkswagen Tiguan 109,747;
23. Ford Bronco Sport 108,169;
24. Chevrolet Tahoe 106,030;
25. Kia Sportage 94,601;
26. Kia Telluride 93,705;
27. Chevrolet Trailblazer 90,161;
28. Hyundai Kona 90,069;
29. Jeep Cherokee 89,126;
30. Hyundai Palisade 86,539;
31. Ford Edge 85,225;
32. GMC Yukon/Yukon XL 84,242;
33. Nissan Kicks 82,960;
34. Ford Expedition 81,988;
35. Kia Sorento 81,785;
36. BMW X3 75,858;
37. Jeep Compass 75,642;
38. Buick Encore GX 71,247;
39. Chevrolet Blazer 70,325;
40. Dodge Durango 65,935;
41. Mercedes GLE 65,074;
42. Toyota Venza 61,988;
43. BMW X5 60,725;
44. Audi Q5 60,301;
45. Mazda CX-30 60,185;
46. Acura MDX 60,057;
47. Subaru Ascent 59,980;
48. GMC Acadia 59,913;
49. Lexus NX 58,514;
50. Acura RDX 57,013;
51. Honda Passport 53,133;
52. Mercedes GLC/GLK 51,805;
53. Kia Seltos 51,368;
54. Chevrolet Suburban 48,214;
55. GMC Terrain 47,488;
56. Jeep Renegade 47,137;
57. Buick Envision 46,450;
58. Nissan Murano 46,117; Chevrolet Trax 42,590;
59. Buick Enclave 41,962;
60. Volvo XC60 41,582;
61. Nissan Pathfinder 41,324;
62. Ford EcoSport 40,659;
63. Cadillac Escalade 40,505;
64. Volvo XC90 38,657;
65. Mitsubishi Outlander 36,133;
66. Toyota C-HR 35,707;
67. Mazda CX-9 34,493;
68. Audi Q3 34,462;
69. Mitsubishi Outlander Sport 34,216;
70. Lexus GX 32,509;
71. Volkswagen Taos 31,682;
72. Hyundai Venue 28,653;
73. Cadillac XT5 28,380;
74. Ford Mustang Mach-E 27,140;
75. Volvo XC40 26,844;
76. Mercedes GLB 26,677;
77. Kia Niro 26,192;
78. Audi Q7 25,362;
79. Ford Bronco 25,023;
80. Porsche Macan 214,716;
81. Mercedes GLS 24,482;
82. Lincoln Nautilus/MKX 24,443;
83. BMW X7 23,046;
84. Nissan Armada 22,814;
85. Lincoln Corsair/MKC 22,790;
86. Range Rover Sport 22,090;
87. Lincoln Aviator 20,924; Cadillac XT6 20,662;
88. Genesis GV80 20,316;
89. Buick Encore 20,072;
90. Land Rover Defender 19,413;
91. Infiniti QX50 19,195;
92. Range Rover 18,615;
93. BMW X1 18,253;
94. Lexus UX 17,581;
95. Porsche Cayenne 17,299;
96. Lincoln Navigator 15,631;

TRUCKS –

1. Ford F-Series 726,004;
2. Ram 1500 569,388;
3. Chevrolet Silverado 519,774;
4. Toyota Tacoma 252,520;
5. GMC Sierra 248,924;
6. Ford Ranger 94,755;
7. Jeep Gladiator 89,712;
8. Toyota Tundra 81,959;
9. Chevrolet Colorado 73,008;
10. Nissan Frontier 60,693;
11. Honda Ridgeline 41,355;
12. Nissan Titan 27,406;
13. GMC Canyon 24,125.

MINIVANS –

1. Toyota Sienna 107,990;
2. Chrysler Pacifica 98,323;
3. Honda Odyssey 76,125;
4. Kia Carnival/Sedona 25,155.

ELECTRICS –

1. Tesla Model Y 172,700;
2. Tesla Model 3 128,600;
3. Ford Mustang Mach-E 27,164;
4. Chevrolet Bolt 24,828;
5. Volkswagen ID.4 16,742;
6. Nissan Leaf 14,239;
7. Audi e-tron 10,921.