Cheap Car Sales Exploded in 2024

Maybe cheap cars aren’t dead in the US after all. Sales of some of America’s most affordable vehicles saw huge increases across the board in 2024; The Nissan Versa, the Kia K4 (formerly the Forte), the Mitsubishi Mirage, and many others.

Nissan had some of the biggest jumps. The brand sold 152,659 Sentras and 42,589 Versas in 2024, representing increases of 39.8 and 71.7 percent respectively. Even in the middle of a changeover year, Nissan still moved 77,356 examples of the Kicks crossover—a 15.8 percent increase.

Even with the Mirage on the way out, Mitsubishi moved a modest 29,766 examples of the tiny economy car in 2024. That marks a sizable 125.2 percent increase. Sales of the Outlander Sport were up just slightly compared to last year, too.

At Kia, the arrival of a new compact sedan is already bearing fruit. The automaker sold 139,778 examples of the K4 and Forte, marking a 12.8 percent increase over the previous year. Sales on the affordable SUV side were less successful for Kia, admittedly, with the Soul, Seltos, and Niro all dropping slightly from 2023.

The Trax was a hot commodity, with Chevrolet selling 200,689 examples of the subcompact crossover in 2024. That represents an 83.9 percent increase over the previous year. On the flip side, the Trailblazer was down 6.0 percent; Chevy sold just 104,398 of them in 2024.

Buick made big moves with its subcompact Envista crossover, which starts at $24,795. The American automaker sold 51,316 examples of the Envista in 2024, which represents an impressive 285.8 percent increase. Although it should be noted that 2024 was the first full year of Envista sales; It didn’t hit the market until the summer of 2023.

Honda sold 151,468 examples of the HR-V in 2024 and a whopping 402,791 examples of the CR-V. Those small SUVs were up 23.9 and 11.4 percent respectively. The Civic saw a jump of 20.8 percent, to 200,831 units.

Volkswagen also saw success with its small sedan, the Jetta. Amidst an update year, sales of the compact four-door were up 51.5 percent over the previous year. VW moved 71,829 Jettas in 2024. VW also moved 63,882 examples of the Taos, an 8.5 percent increase.

Photo by: Volkswagen

Even Jeep—in a down year—saw sales of its cheapest SUV increase. The brand sold 111,697 examples of the Compass, representing an increase of 16 percent over the previous year. The updated Compass starts at $27,495 for the 2025 model year.

On the compact truck side, the Ford Maverick was up 39.4 percent. Ford sold a whopping 131,142 examples of the pint-sized pickup in 2024. Its nearest competitor, the Hyundai Santa Cruz, had a down year. Hyundai sold just 32,033 examples of the Santa Cruz, a decrease of 13 percent.

Of course, there were a few exceptions to all that sales success. But in general, cheap cars had a huge year in 2024. Brands like Chevy, Honda, and even Nissan saw some of the biggest increases for their small cars, while others like Buick and Jeep also found success.