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A shift in the auto market is becoming harder to ignore as consumer demand tilts back toward larger, gas-powered vehicles, even as electric vehicles struggle to maintain momentum.
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FOX Business correspondent Jeff Flock joined FOX Business’ Stuart Varney on “Varney & Co.” to report from the New York Auto Show, where automakers are leaning into SUVs and trucks amid changing buyer preferences.
Recent sales data underscores that pivot. Midsize SUVs and trucks are seeing notable gains, while smaller cars and electric vehicles are losing ground, highlighting a widening gap between industry ambitions and what consumers are actually buying.
According to Cox Automotive and Kelley Blue Book, midsize SUV sales are up 15%, midsize truck sales are up 14%, while compact car sales are down 8% and EVs are down 26% in February compared to the same time last year. EV momentum has become increasingly uneven. Electric vehicles reached 10.5% of U.S. new-vehicle sales in the third quarter of 2025 but fell to 5.8% in the fourth quarter as incentives faded, highlighting a sharp pullback after earlier gains.
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Nissan Americas Chairman Christian Meunier pointed to another pressure shaping the market: tariffs. Automakers and suppliers have absorbed billions of dollars in added costs, limiting their ability to pass those expenses on to buyers.
“It’s a lot of money, but it’s a lot less than the exposure we had a year ago when it was implemented,” Meunier said.
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He added that the company has worked to reduce that burden while increasing domestic production.
“At the very beginning, we had an exposure of $4 billion. We took it down to $1.5 billion in 25, and we’re going to get it down to zero. That’s our mission to build as many cars in the U.S. as we can,” Meunier said.
