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SUVs and Trucks Solidify Command of Recovering U.S. Auto Market

  • Sedans fall further out of favor with rental sales drying up
  • Demand bouncing back leaves GM with lean pickup inventory
A person looks at vehicles for sale at a General Motors Co. Buick and GMC car dealership in Woodbridge, New Jersey on May 20. 

A person looks at vehicles for sale at a General Motors Co. Buick and GMC car dealership in Woodbridge, New Jersey on May 20. 

Photographer: Angus Mordant/Bloomberg
Updated on

Sport-utility vehicles and trucks are dominating U.S. auto sales like never before as carmakers start to recover from the biggest shock to their industry in decades.

Recovering pickup and SUV demand helped the annualized rate of sales rebound to 12.2 million in May from 8.6 million in April, according to researcher Wards Intelligence. The earlier reading was the lowest seasonally adjusted figure in data going back to 1976.