I am eagerly awaiting the loss of life of the sedan

One of many highlights of the 2025 New York Worldwide Auto Present was the Kia EV4, at the moment as a consequence of attain the US in early 2026. It was notable for a number of causes: uncommon styling, twin 12.3-inch touchscreens, and as much as 330 miles (531 kilometers) of vary should you pay for the Wind trim. It even has a brand new voice assistant in a position to refine its responses and command recognition, so hopefully, it will not unintentionally set off itself while you’re jamming out to

Spotify
. Thoughts you, Apple says the identical factor about

Siri
.

It ought to — by all rights — be a strong

electric car
for the individuals who need one, but it surely additionally made me notice one thing — I’ve completely zero curiosity in sedans anymore, irrespective of how well-built or futuristic they’re. Certainly, the format appears to be on its approach out, and for as soon as I am truly supportive of the best way the world goes, so long as reasonably priced choices stick round too.

Why sedans ought to disappear

A pattern already in progress

Honda

Once I was rising up in Canada (and visiting the US) in the course of the ’80s and ’90s, sedans have been all over the place. On reflection, they have been the “default” automobile for North America — you solely purchased one thing else to accommodate area of interest calls for. For those who wished ample cargo house, you acquire a van, a truck, or a station wagon; should you wished to economize, you acquire a compact hatchback. Even loads of highschool children ended up getting used sedans as starter automobiles.

You possibly can nonetheless purchase new sedans, however in North America they have been eclipsed in recognition by SUVs, vehicles, and crossovers. Whereas it is tough to trace down up-to-the-minute information, in 2019, SUVs accounted for 47.7% of US gross sales (per a New York Times report) versus simply 22.1% for sedans. Even some sports activities automobile manufacturers have added SUVs to their lineups. I see Porsche Cayennes on the highway on a regular basis — irrespective of that purchasing an SUV for efficiency is akin to purchasing a Bowie knife to cut up dinner greens.

A sedan is smart should you’re a house owner who’s largely touring forwards and backwards to work, often shuttling children round, taking holidays, or having an evening out. However should you’re recurrently transferring from condo to condo — like many millennials and Gen Zers — a sedan cannot match that many containers, not to mention giant items of furnishings. And even as soon as you have settled right into a home, there is a good likelihood you may be occurring weekend runs to shops like Residence Depot, Greatest Purchase, or IKEA. Few issues are extra irritating than carting a TV or stack of lumber out to your automobile solely to comprehend it will not match.

Kids exacerbate the scenario. My spouse and I solely have one baby, however like many individuals nowadays, we do not have handy kin or babysitters close by. Our son and his booster seat have to return together with us on many errands, shrinking the quantity of cargo house even additional. In that sense, I actually cannot blame mother and father for getting full-sized SUVs, even when most of them do not want a Nissan Armada or Chevy Tahoe to take their children to judo classes.

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The highway forward

Adapting type components for the 2020s

Chevrolet

When my spouse and I purchased a brand new automobile in 2022, we selected the Hyundai Venue, which is a compact crossover SUV. It is the best format for us — extra cargo house than a sedan, however nonetheless sufficiently small to be reasonably priced and slot in a single-car storage. We nonetheless run into house issues typically, but it surely’s often nothing some inventive seat manipulation cannot repair. I can not think about making an attempt to do the identical issues with my outdated Buick Regal.

In that regard, I really feel that crossovers and different small SUVs are rightfully taking on, particularly since they permit sufficient house for bigger batteries on EV fashions. The Chevy Equinox EV (above) is spectacular to me as one thing underneath $34,000 with a 319-mile (513-kilometer) vary. I would like to see 300-mile ranges on compact hatchbacks, too, however the tech in all probability will not be there till solid-state batteries arrive round 2030.

There are some facets of this trajectory I do not like. Many SUVs are nonetheless unnecessarily enormous, blocking lanes and sightlines in site visitors, and naturally posing a extra critical risk in the event that they hit one thing. The identical can be stated of many vehicles, which regularly do not even carry cargo. In locations like Alberta and Texas, it looks as if lots of people get one simply to slot in with the native cowboy tradition, and/or to really feel powerful on the streets.

Will sedans disappear utterly? I doubt it, no less than till robotaxis and different absolutely self-driving vehicles are an omnipresent actuality. They do serve a function. However each the optimistic and detrimental tendencies in place appear to be urgent exhausting, and I would fairly issues skew within the route of practicality than faux we’re all well-off professionals who get all the things massive and heavy delivered by white-glove providers.

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The affordability challenge

One ultimate thought

Honda

I do have one different concern, and that is pricing tendencies. Even compact crossovers are typically costlier than sedans, so there’s the chance that our purchasing habits will inadvertently push some folks out of the auto market, notably if corporations cannot determine a solution to construct a worthwhile EV equal of sub-compacts just like the Honda Match. The trade goes to go all-electric, ultimately.

I am comparatively optimistic on that entrance, just because know-how retains evolving, and buyer demand is sure to maintain issues in examine. There’ll all the time be somebody recent out of school who wants an inexpensive journey — the trade cannot faux that everybody is able to shell out $40,000 or extra for his or her ideally suited do-it-all-mobile.

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