{"id":92429,"date":"2026-02-17T17:35:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:35:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automotive.einnews.com\/article\/893145016"},"modified":"2026-02-17T17:35:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T20:35:11","slug":"detroit-automakers-want-to-bring-back-sedans-will-they-last-this-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/17\/detroit-automakers-want-to-bring-back-sedans-will-they-last-this-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Automakers Want To Bring Back Sedans. Will They Last This Time?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s said that things go in cycles<\/a>, and that\u2019s true of the car industry, too. In the wake of the Great Recession, American automakers pledged to heed consumers\u2019 pleas for more small cars and sedans. The Big Three kept up the act for maybe five or six years, then unceremoniously began killing them off again in favor of more profitable SUVs. Fast forward to the present day, and the prices of new vehicles<\/a> and a great many goods are hitting new heights, so it should come as little surprise that Detroit is once again entertaining sedans. For now.<\/p>\n

General Motors President Mark Reuss recently said that he \u201cwould kill to have a hybrid-electric sedan,\u201d and that GM is \u201cworking on how to do that.\u201d It shouldn\u2019t be complicated, though. Credit to Ford CEO Jim Farley, who recognizes that other companies worked that out long ago; it\u2019s just the Americans who seem to be allergic to the solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sedan market is very vibrant,\u201d Farley said at the Detroit Auto Show, per the Wall Street Journal<\/a><\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s not that there isn\u2019t a market there. It\u2019s just we couldn\u2019t find a way to compete and be profitable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stellantis is also apparently actively investigating the segment. Almost a decade removed from the Chrysler 200\u2014a sedan that shared a platform with the ill-fated Dodge Dart\u2014Chrysler CEO Chris Feuell teased a sub-$30,000 small car that will be \u201cbeautiful and fun to drive and aspirational\u201d last year.<\/p>\n

\"Former
Former Dodge President and CEO Reid Bigland introduces the 2013 Dodge Dart during the 2012 North American International Auto Show, January 9, 2012. Bill Pugliano\/Getty Images<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Up until now, Detroit would have you believe that sedans\u2019 slim profit margins make them prohibitive to business. You\u2019ve got to sell a lot of them to make the endeavor worthwhile, as Honda, Toyota, Hyundai, and Kia do. Consider Kia\u2019s sales last month<\/a>\u2014a record January for the brand. Its second-best-selling vehicle, behind the Sportage, was the K4, rolled in with remaining Forte stock. The same is true for Honda\u2014the Civic and Accord trailed only the CR-V<\/a> in sales by model in January.<\/p>\n

Commit to giving customers what they want\u2014even if it might lack the margins of a King Ranch pickup truck\u2014and you can still make money. Those small car makers wouldn\u2019t be bothering if they didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Robby DeGraff, manager of product and consumer insights analysis at the firm AutoPacific, told us that more than a third of the some 18,000 consumers it surveyed who plan to buy or lease a new car within the next three years said they\u2019d consider sedans, especially midsize and large ones. In a market overrun by cookie-cutter crossovers, he believes sedans have real potential to stand out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe demand is there, and even if an automaker has to bite the bullet and commit to the not-as-profitable sedan segments again, they should,\u201d DeGraff said. \u201cI applaud the Korean and Japanese brands for maintaining a strong presence in the sedan game, as a quick peep at year-over-year sales numbers for models like Kia\u2019s K4 and K5, Toyota\u2019s Corolla and Camry, and the Hyundai Elantra, all saw gains in 2025. Even others\u2014Nissan\u2019s redesigned Sentra and Honda\u2019s Civic, both excellent value-packed cars\u2014were bought in droves last year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scanning that recent story from the Journal<\/em>, there are two particular quotes that stand out to me. First is a comment by a dealer group owner in New Orleans, who said, \u201cThere were a lot of people that bought Ford Focuses and Escorts that ended up buying Explorers and Expeditions and F-Series trucks later. It was an entryway, a gateway product to the brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chevrolet
Chevrolet introduced its new Malibu at the New York International Auto Show on April 1, 2015. Kevin Hagen\/Getty Images<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For some, that might\u2019ve been true\u2014particularly for consumers who maybe had a Focus in their twenties, then started a family and needed to move up a few size classes. But you\u2019ll still have those customers who want the car they want, as evidenced by a Ford dealer tech in Ohio who, per the publication, is \u201changing on to his own Fusion as long as he can, since Ford doesn\u2019t offer a new one anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, Detroit appears to be entertaining normal cars again, which is wonderful. As a Focus, Fiesta, and (apprehensive) Dart owner<\/a> at various points, I can attest that American small cars, hatchbacks, and sedans have had redeeming qualities, even when they weren\u2019t the best. But if they don\u2019t sell this time around\u2014and measuring up to Civic and Corolla sales certainly won\u2019t be easy\u2014history gives us every reason to believe this will prove another short-lived flirtation, and we can look forward to the Big Three\u2019s next small car boom in 2045. It seems to be a fad only for them.<\/p>\n

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