As we start a new year, there are many reports of vehicle sales in 2024. Here in the U.S. sales were about 16 million vehicles versus 15.9 million in 2023. There is a lot of discussion regarding which manufacturers had increased or decreased sales year-over-year. While reading one article, the author mentioned the results of the “Big Three” in 2024. I’ve read the term “Big Three” thousands of times, but this time it hit me. I thought, “Why are we still referring to the Big Three?” The term “The Big Three” in the U.S. automotive industry dates back to the early 1900s, when the American car manufacturing landscape was rapidly evolving.
Early Beginnings
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the U.S. saw a boom in automobile companies. Over 1,900 different companies produced more than 3,000 brands of American automobiles.
The three companies that would become known as the Big Three emerged during this time:
Ford Motor Company: Founded by Henry Ford in 1903, it revolutionized the industry with the introduction of the assembly line.
General Motors (GM): Founded in 1908 by William Durant, who initially acquired Buick and Oldsmobile, and later added Cadillac and Chevrolet to its portfolio.
Chrysler: The youngest of the three, founded by Walter Chrysler in 1925.
Consolidation and Dominance
The Great Depression caused many automobile companies to go out of business. During World War II, auto companies switched to making military equipment and weapons. By the end of the 1950’s, most smaller producers had disappeared or merged into larger corporations. At that time, the Big Three accounted for around 90% of all automobile sales in the United States.
Challenges and Current State
Imported vehicle sales, particularly from Japan and Germany, started growing from the 1950’s and 1960’s. The oil crisis of the 1970’s led to increased demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, giving an advantage to foreign manufacturers. In the 1980’s and 1990’s, customer surveys showed the Big Three trailed their competitors in quality and customer satisfaction. By the 2000’s, the U.S. market share of the Big Three fell to 45%. Here is where we stand in 2024:
2024 U.S. Sales by Manufacturer (in millions)
| GM – 2.7 |
| Toyota – 2.3 |
| Ford – 2.1 |
| Hyundai / Kia – 1.7 |
| Honda – 1.4 |
| Stellantis – 1.3 |
So, who is the Big Three in 2024? Based on sales, it is GM, Toyota, and Ford. I’ve also read articles where the term Big Three was replace with the Detroit Three. I assume the author was still trying to refer to GM, Ford, and Chrysler by with the term Detroit Three. However, that’s ignoring the fact that Chrysler has been owned by a foreign parent company off-and-on since 1998. Yes, it’s been over 26 years since the so-called merger of equals with Daimler. After a stint under the ownership of Cerberus and filing for bankruptcy, Chrysler is now part of Stellantis which is not headquartered in Detroit. (Please don’t think I have anything against Chrysler. In fact, I had a 20-year love affair with the Dodge Neon, owning four of them.)
So … it’s time to let it go. The Big Three that we’ve referred to in the past is no more. They haven’t existed in decades. Let’s accept that fact and move on.