Utility vehicle sales, led by the Honda CR-V and Ford Escape, improved by 18% in May 2014 and generated 31.6% of the overall industry's new vehicle sales volume. That's up from 31.1% in April 2014; up from 29.8% in May 2013.
• U.S. Car Sales Rankings By Model - May 2014 YTD
• Top 20 Best-Selling SUVs In America - May 2014
• Top 13 Best-Selling Pickup Trucks In America - May 2014 YTD
Again, these improved SUV/crossover sales figures were manifested during a period of car growth. It wasn't just the Toyota Camry - the overall passenger car market grew 9%.
And it wasn't just the CR-V and Escape, although they are responsible for attracting nearly 13 out of every 100 new utility vehicle buyers. 16 of the 20 best-selling SUVs recorded year-over-year improvements in U.S. volume in May 2014. (Only 19 of the top 20 were eligible to do so, as the Jeep Cherokee wasn't on sale at this time a year ago.)
• U.S. Auto Sales Brand Rankings - May 2014 YTD
• Commercial Van Sales In America - May 2014 YTD
• Minivan Sales In America - May 2014 YTD
Also in May, Porsche and Lincoln began selling their smallest utility vehicles, the Macan and MKC. You'll find them ranked below.
We're clearly operating in a tall-riding car world, where unibody vehicles with cladding and plastic skid plates so often rule the roost. But offroad fans and enthusiasts of traditional SUVs will be pleased to know that Jeep sold more Wranglers in May 2014 than at any other time in the brand's history; more vehicles in total, as well. This was enough for the Wrangler to move up from the ninth to eighth positions, surpassing its sibling, the very car-based (and very off-road-capable) Cherokee.
There were important improvements introduced in last October's ranking of utility vehicle sales. Prior year figures now include the actual numbers from last year, not just the percentage increase from last year. As a result, we've also included vehicles like the Jeep Liberty and Honda Element, nameplates which collected sales in 2013 but not this year. At any time, click the Rank column to return to the original format. If you're on a mobile device, you may need to choose the full version of the site (at the bottom of the page) in order to use the sortable function.
• U.S. SUV/Crossover Sales Rankings By Model - June 2014 YTD
• U.S. SUV/Crossover Sales Rankings By Model - April 2014 YTD
• U.S. SUV/Crossover Sales Rankings By Model - May 2013 YTD
• U.S. Vehicle Sales Rankings By Model - May 2014 YTD
Reminder: these are 2014 year-to-date rankings, but you can sort utility vehicles by May volume by clicking the May 2014 column header, or you can rank SUVs and crossovers by improvements or declines using the % columns. Or, most importantly, you can list automakers together by selecting the SUV/Crossover column header.
As always, you can find historical monthly and yearly sales figures for any of these vehicles by selecting a make and model at GCBC's Sales Stats page.
Click Column Headers To Sort • June 2014 • April 2014 • May 2013
Rank | SUV/Crossover | May 2014 YTD | May 2013 YTD | % Change | May 2014 | May 2013 | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Honda CR-V | 128,563 | 119,191 | 7.9% | 32,430 | 27,298 | 18.8% |
| #2 | Ford Escape | 127,780 | 127,932 | -0.1% | 31,896 | 29,123 | 9.5% |
| #3 | Chevrolet Equinox | 99,083 | 102,752 | -3.6% | 22,695 | 22,918 | -1.0% |
| #4 | Toyota RAV4 | 95,363 | 80,734 | 18.1% | 23,465 | 20,780 | 12.9% |
| #5 | Ford Explorer | 87,170 | 84,646 | 3.0% | 22,623 | 18,009 | 25.6% |
| #5.1 | Ford Explorer * | 79,343 | 79,714 | -0.5% | 20,346 | 16,861 | 20.7% |
| #5.2 | Ford Explorer Police Interceptor * | 7,827 | 4,932 | 58.7% | 2,277 | 1,148 | 98.3% |
| #6 | Nissan Rogue | 84,236 | 63,533 | 32.6% | 18,722 | 17,333 | 8.0% |
| #7 | Jeep Grand Cherokee | 74,558 | 64,170 | 16.2% | 18,068 | 16,034 | 12.7% |
| #8 | Jeep Wrangler | 69,298 | 61,563 | 12.6% | 19,235 | 16,272 | 18.2% |
| #9 | Jeep Cherokee | 67,095 | --- | --- | 15,992 | --- | --- |
| #10 | Subaru Forester | 61,083 | 40,578 | 50.5% | 14,146 | 10,068 | 40.5% |
| #11 | Toyota Highlander | 60,583 | 50,681 | 19.5% | 12,329 | 11,360 | 8.5% |
| #12 | Ford Edge | 51,368 | 55,392 | -7.3% | 10,756 | 13,501 | -20.3% |
| #13 | Hyundai Santa Fe | 43,075 | 33,502 | 28.6% | 10,638 | 7,116 | 49.5% |
| #14 | Mazda CX-5 | 42,332 | 31,199 | 35.7% | 9,291 | 7,128 | 30.3% |
| #15 | Kia Sorento | 42,090 | 44,046 | -4.4% | 10,548 | 9,182 | 14.9% |
| #16 | GMC Terrain | 41,944 | 42,617 | -1.6% | 8,734 | 7,847 | 11.3% |
| #17 | Chevrolet Traverse | 41,461 | 42,999 | -3.6% | 10,108 | 8,182 | 23.5% |
| #18 | Honda Pilot | 40,850 | 50,802 | -19.6% | 10,054 | 11,963 | -16.0% |
| #19 | Dodge Journey | 39,703 | 36,437 | 9.0% | 8,833 | 6,663 | 32.6% |
| #20 | Lexus RX | 38,838 | 37,171 | 4.5% | 9,476 | 8,714 | 8.7% |
| #21 | Jeep Patriot | 37,055 | 31,425 | 17.9% | 8,242 | 6,636 | 24.2% |
| #22 | Chevrolet Tahoe | 34,691 | 35,067 | -1.1% | 9,229 | 9,243 | -0.2% |
| #23 | Nissan Pathfinder | 33,603 | 38,179 | -12.0% | 7,929 | 9,340 | -15.1% |
| #24 | GMC Acadia | 33,147 | 37,318 | -11.2% | 6,282 | 8,815 | -28.7% |
| #25 | Toyota 4Runner | 29,532 | 21,362 | 38.2% | 7,550 | 4,443 | 69.9% |
| #26 | Dodge Durango | 27,892 | 23,715 | 17.6% | 6,071 | 4,759 | 27.6% |
| #27 | Jeep Compass | 27,790 | 21,744 | 27.8% | 8,666 | 5,276 | 64.3% |
| #28 | Acura MDX | 25,774 | 14,386 | 79.2% | 5,997 | 2,781 | 116% |
| #29 | Chevrolet Captiva Sport | 24,852 | 21,778 | 14.1% | 6,204 | 5,084 | 22.0% |
| #30 | Cadillac SRX | 24,212 | 20,078 | 20.6% | 4,762 | 3,744 | 27.2% |
| #31 | Buick Enclave | 23,940 | 25,919 | -7.6% | 4,589 | 5,310 | -13.6% |
| #32 | Nissan Juke | 23,202 | 14,418 | 60.9% | 3,825 | 2,867 | 33.4% |
| #33 | Hyundai Tucson | 20,560 | 18,407 | 11.7% | 4,482 | 3,664 | 22.3% |
| #34 | BMW X3 | 19,697 | 11,259 | 74.9% | 5,723 | 2,134 | 168% |
| #35 | Buick Encore | 19,515 | 9,972 | 95.7% | 4,475 | 2,103 | 113% |
| #36 | Acura RDX | 18,864 | 18,177 | 3.8% | 4,299 | 4,930 | -12.8% |
| #37 | BMW X5 | 18,466 | 18,053 | 2.3% | 4,313 | 2,718 | 58.7% |
| #38 | Mercedes-Benz M-Class | 18,049 | 15,661 | 15.2% | 4,084 | 3,219 | 26.9% |
| #39 | Ford Expedition | 17,478 | 14,530 | 20.3% | 5,025 | 3,817 | 31.6% |
| #40 | Nissan Murano | 17,367 | 17,409 | -0.2% | 3,610 | 3,152 | 14.5% |
| #41 | Chevrolet Suburban | 16,987 | 17,850 | -4.8% | 5,423 | 4,753 | 14.1% |
| #42 | Kia Sportage | 16,366 | 12,969 | 26.2% | 4,009 | 2,688 | 49.1% |
| #43 | Audi Q5 | 15,903 | 14,817 | 7.3% | 3,836 | 3,380 | 13.5% |
| #44 | Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class | 14,872 | 12,940 | 14.9% | 3,457 | 2,728 | 26.7% |
| #45 | GMC Yukon | 14,658 | 10,308 | 42.2% | 4,409 | 1,814 | 143% |
| #46 | Infiniti QX60/JX | 13,441 | 12,435 | 8.1% | 2,736 | 2,952 | -7.3% |
| #47 | Mitsubishi Outlander Sport | 12,889 | 9,813 | 31.3% | 2,820 | 2,266 | 24.4% |
| #48 | Lincoln MKX | 11,332 | 9,637 | 17.6% | 2,403 | 1,831 | 31.2% |
| #49 | Volkswagen Tiguan | 10,758 | 13,074 | -17.7% | 2,649 | 2,635 | 0.5% |
| #50 | Ford Flex | 10,604 | 10,415 | 1.8% | 2,829 | 3,163 | -10.6% |
| #51 | BMW X1 | 10,259 | 10,216 | 0.4% | 1,161 | 3,249 | -64.3% |
| #52 | Mercedes-Benz GL-Class | 9,997 | 12,527 | -20.2% | 2,326 | 2,428 | -4.2% |
| #53 | GMC Yukon XL | 9,349 | 12,880 | -27.4% | 3,164 | 5,063 | -37.5% |
| #54 | Mini Countryman | 8,665 | 8,474 | 2.3% | 2,315 | 1,771 | 30.7% |
| #55 | Nissan Xterra | 8,599 | 8,733 | -1.5% | 1,724 | 1,861 | -7.4% |
| #56 | Lexus GX460 | 8,504 | 3,531 | 141% | 1,958 | 745 | 163% |
| #57 | Land Rover Range Rover Sport | 8,325 | 6,308 | 32.0% | 1,496 | 1,105 | 35.4% |
| #58 | Mazda CX-9 | 7,812 | 12,657 | -38.3% | 1,602 | 1,972 | -18.8% |
| #59 | Cadillac Escalade & ESV | 7,441 | 7,802 | -4.6% | 2,510 | 1,728 | 45.3% |
| #59.1 | Cadillac Escalade * | 4764 | 4642 | 2.6% | 1664 | 1033 | 61.1% |
| #59.2 | Cadillac Escalade ESV * | 2677 | 3160 | -15.3% | 846 | 695 | 21.7% |
| #60 | Porsche Cayenne | 7,413 | 7,696 | -3.7% | 1,294 | 1,765 | -26.7% |
| #61 | Toyota FJ Cruiser | 7,116 | 5,212 | 36.5% | 1,611 | 1,599 | 0.8% |
| #62 | Audi Q7 | 7,006 | 5,353 | 30.9% | 1,455 | 1,269 | 14.7% |
| #63 | Volvo XC60 | 6,604 | 8,122 | -18.7% | 1,552 | 1,915 | -19.0% |
| #64 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 6,053 | 4,002 | 51.2% | 1,292 | 539 | 140% |
| #65 | Nissan Armada | 5,461 | 6,244 | -12.5% | 1,104 | 1,537 | -28.2% |
| #66 | Infiniti QX80/QX56 | 5,297 | 5,055 | 4.8% | 980 | 938 | 4.5% |
| #67 | Land Rover Range Rover Evoque | 5,239 | 4,650 | 12.7% | 1,196 | 751 | 59.3% |
| #68 | Land Rover Range Rover | 5,115 | 4,418 | 15.8% | 925 | 954 | -3.0% |
| #69 | Toyota Sequoia | 4,957 | 5,548 | -10.7% | 1,068 | 1,202 | -11.1% |
| #70 | Lincoln Navigator | 2,932 | 3,149 | -6.9% | 697 | 642 | 8.6% |
| #71 | Volkswagen Touareg | 2,714 | 3,688 | -26.4% | 552 | 586 | -5.8% |
| #72 | Infiniti QX70/FX | 2,576 | 3,161 | -18.5% | 361 | 458 | -21.2% |
| #73 | Volvo XC90 | 2,240 | 2,748 | -18.5% | 462 | 605 | -23.6% |
| #74 | Lincoln MKT | 2,238 | 2,567 | -12.8% | 503 | 621 | -19.0% |
| #75 | BMW X6 | 1,771 | 2,505 | -29.3% | 329 | 887 | -62.9% |
| #76 | Land Rover LR4 | 1,768 | 2,991 | -40.9% | 530 | 625 | -15.2% |
| #77 | Lexus LX570 | 1,717 | 1,725 | -0.5% | 352 | 348 | 1.1% |
| #78 | Land Rover LR2 | 1,701 | 1,149 | 48.0% | 389 | 119 | 227% |
| #79 | Toyota Land Cruiser | 1,305 | 1,225 | 6.5% | 262 | 268 | -2.2% |
| #80 | Porsche Macan | 1,263 | --- | --- | 1,263 | --- | --- |
| #81 | Infiniti QX50/EX | 1,207 | 674 | 79.1% | 265 | 119 | 123% |
| #82 | Mercedes-Benz G-Class | 1,206 | 1,042 | 15.7% | 324 | 242 | 33.9% |
| #83 | Mini Paceman | 745 | 404 | 84.4% | 170 | 140 | 21.4% |
| #84 | Lincoln MKC | 677 | --- | --- | 677 | --- | --- |
| #85 | Subaru Tribeca | 544 | 722 | -24.7% | 84 | 102 | -17.6% |
| #86 | Acura ZDX | 53 | 192 | -72.4% | 5 | 41 | -87.8% |
| T87 | Hyundai Veracruz | 1 | 157 | -99.4% | --- | 5 | -100% |
| T87 | Mazda Tribute | 1 | 1 | 0.0% | --- | 1 | -100% |
| #259 | Jeep Liberty | --- | 5,894 | -100% | --- | 201 | -100% |
| #262 | Suzuki Grand Vitara | --- | 1,037 | -100% | --- | --- | --- |
| #266 | Mitsubishi Endeavor | --- | 24 | -100% | --- | --- | --- |
| #274 | Honda Element | --- | 1 | -100% | --- | --- | --- |
--- | Total | 2,135,840 | 1,897,544 | 12.6% | 507,925 | 430,137 | 18.1% |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
* Italicized unranked lines are nothing more than available breakdowns, already included in the model's total, not in addition to the model's total.
^ Escalade here does not include sales of the EXT, which is shown with pickup trucks.
Rather than listing the 500L with the Mini Paceman and Countryman in these SUV/crossover rankings, it's with cars in large part because it is not available with all-wheel-drive. The placement of numerous crossovers often prompts disagreement, but consider the vehicle type's name: crossover. By its very definition, it crosses over from one category into another. The very act of calling, for example, the Toyota Venza a car or a utility vehicle requires ignorance of the fact that the Venza (or Outback, Crosstour, Encore, Countryman, 500L) is a square peg that can't be squeezed through a round hole.
