America’s long love affair with full-size trucks may fizzle out if Generation Z has anything to say about it. A new study says the youngest car shoppers are less enthusiastic about pickups than the three generations that come before them.
The study comes from Insurify, an insurance comparison shopping service. When you apply for car insurance, you reveal what car you own, your age, and other demographic data. That gives Insurify’s data scientists a lot of insight into Americans’ driving behavior. For this study, they reviewed more than 4.5 million car insurance applications between Jan. 1, 2023, and Jan. 1, 2024.
Related: Gen Z Takes Its Time, Does Its Research When Car Shopping
They found that everyone but Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2012) loves the Ford F-Series pickup. It’s the most popular vehicle among Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and Generation X (1965-1980). It makes the top 10 for Millennials (1981-1996). But there’s not an F-150 – not even a single pickup – on the top 10 list for members of Gen Z.
Many of the conclusions the study draws are logical ones. Inexpensive cars are popular among people early in their careers, for instance. Cars get larger as people enter parenting age.
Affordable cars are also common among the young because they’re cheaper to insure.
“Gen Z pays the most for car insurance, at $246 per month for full coverage in 2023, and boomers pay the least, at $134,” Insurify explains. “Premiums are in line with risk rates, as younger drivers lack experience on the road, and insurers often charge them more as a result.”
But we were shocked to see sedans dominate among Millennials and members of Gen Z. Automakers, heavily focused on SUVs in recent years, may have to get ready for the rebirth of the sedan.
Most Popular Cars By Generation
Each Generation Has a Favorite Car
Each generation also dominated sales of at least one car in the study.
“Baby boomers have the most stand-out signature vehicle. They’re 298% more likely to own the Mercedes-Benz SL-Class than the average driver,” study authors note. “The sporty two-seater might not be practical for younger drivers who need to accommodate car seats and kids, but boomers behind the wheel of this high-performance convertible are living it up during retirement.”
Members of Generation X were 94% more likely to own a Hummer H2, and…sigh…I apologize for my generation on that one. Our parents left us to our own devices a lot.
Millennials, now more likely to have young children than any other generation, are 71% more likely to own a Kia Carnival.
Gen Z dominates buyers of the Toyota GR 86. Buyers under 28 were 239% more likely than the average driver to buy Toyota’s least-expensive performance car. Maybe young people really will manage to save the manuals.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.