More Millennials Want Sedans but Older Generations Can’t Stop Buying SUVs: Study

Nissan surveyed a big batch of Americans between the ages of 18 and 65, finding a greater affinity for sedans in younger people than old.
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Sedans may be disappearing from automakers' lineups, but don't default to the lazy American standby of blaming young people for everything wrong with the world. A new study has found that young people are more likely than older folks to buy a sedan as their next vehicle.

Nissan surveyed a group of Americans between the ages of 18 and 65, comprised of both car owners and non-owners, and found that young buyers' preferences aren't what's wrong with the car market. In total, 78 percent of those surveyed who don't own a sedan said they'd consider buying one, but that number was dragged upward by strong interest in the body style among younger generations.

Of Gen Z and younger Millennials in the 18-34 age bracket, 86 percent said they'd be willing to consider buying a sedan when they're in the market for a vehicle, though the number dips as ages rise. Eighty-one percent of older Millennials and members of Generation X (ages 35-50) admitted they'd consider buying sedans, though no figures were given for Americans older than 50—older Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. Going by the fact that Americans under 50 want sedans at rates above the study's average, the implications are obvious: it's the older generations that are turning their nose up at normal four-door cars.

And it's the older, wealthier Baby Boomers that are buying the majority of new cars, according to Hedges & Company. Sixty-two percent of new cars are sold to this aging generation, and 15 of 25 new models recommended to seniors by Consumer Reports last year are crossovers, so if there is anyone to point at as the cause of sedans going by the wayside, it's the people who actually buy cars. You can't entirely blame them for wanting vehicles that are easier to get into and out of, but you don't have to turn the other cheek when they aim the blame for disappearing sedans at you, younger gens.