Millennials Now Buying More Pickup Trucks Than Boomers, Gen X

Members of the Millennial generation are on track to outpace Baby Boomers and Generation X in new pickup truck purchases.

JD Power Vice President of Data and Analytics Tyson Jominy told CNBC that Millennials’ affinity for pickup trucks has “gotten faster every month” — surpassing his group’s expectations.

CNBC reported:

Most impactful for the current U.S. market is that Millennials for the first time this year will be the largest buyers of midsize, full-size and heavy-duty pickups. The segments are known as light-duty trucks. They represented 2.85 million sales, or 20%, of the U.S. new vehicle market in 2020.

Amid the burgeoning coronavirus pandemic last year, Millennials overtook sales of larger pickups from Baby Boomers — born between 1946 and 1964 — and are on pace this year to beat Gen X buyers — born between 1965 and 1976 – as the top buyers of mid-size and compact pickups, according to J.D. Power.

According to Jominy, the release of new electric pickup trucks may be driving the transition:

Baby Boomers overtook the pre-Boomers, or the Great Generation, as the largest buyers when the Ford Mustang was rising in popularity in the late-1960s and 1970s. Now, Millennials have overtaken them with the introduction of the first all-electric Mustang Mach-E crossover…

While the average buyer age for the Mustang Mach-E are Gen Xers at the age of 50, J.D. Power reports Millennials are also the largest buyers of EVs. J.D. Power reports they’ve represented 35% of new EV purchases this year compared to Baby Boomers at 29% and Gen X at 26%.

Indeed, younger consumers’ growing preference for electric vehicles reflects a changing industry and regulatory environment in the United States.

The Biden administration — as reflected by its policy proposals over the past year — is promoting a shift away from gasoline-powered cars. Last month, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in an interview that the Build Back Better Act contains financial incentives for Americans to purchase electric cars — namely, by hiking the federal electric vehicle tax credit from $7,500 to $12,500.

“The people who stand to benefit most from owning an EV,” said Buttigieg, “are often rural residents who have the longest distances to drive, they burn the most gas, and underserved urban residents in areas where there are higher gas prices and lower income. They would gain the most by having that vehicle. These are the very residents who have not always been connected to electric vehicles that are viewed as kind of a luxury item.”

In a recent interview with The Daily Wire, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) — the Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means Committee — blasted the electric vehicle credit as nothing more than a boon for high earners.

“Under this bill, a family making $800,000 per year is eligible for a $12,500 check to buy a luxury electric vehicle with up to a $74,000 price tag,” noted Brady. “That check they’re getting will be paid for by the maid who comes to clean their house. It’s a stunning giveaway to the wealthy.”

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