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American luxury vehicle buyers are increasingly abandoning high-end brands to purchase models from mass-market manufacturers, especially SUVs, a trend driven largely by price, according to an analysis by J.D. Power.
Data from the first half of 2026 shows that 32% of those who replaced a midsize luxury SUV opted for a vehicle from a mainstream brand. Of those, 11% bought another mainstream midsize SUV, and 6% chose a mainstream compact SUV.
The trend is even more pronounced among owners of high-end compact cars: 42% switched to a mass-market brand. Among owners of luxury compact SUVs, the percentage was 30%.
J.D. Power noted that this phenomenon is particularly significant because midsize luxury SUVs currently make up the best-selling luxury segment.
The firm believes the shift does not mean buyers are giving up on comfort or technology, but rather that they are increasingly finding those features in mainstream models without having to pay the price premium traditionally associated with a luxury brand.
In contrast, pickup trucks do not show a comparable movement. Only 2.6% of customers who left a high-end segment purchased a large pickup, a percentage that has remained stable since 2024, while the switch to midsize trucks increased by half a percentage point, to 1.8%.
The propensity to leave high-end brands also varies significantly by age. Baby boomers and older generations are the most likely to stay in the luxury market, while the shift toward mainstream brands increases among Gen X, millennials, and reaches its highest level among Gen Z buyers.
Income also plays a significant role. Among households with less than $100,000 in annual income, 12.9% of those who parted with a luxury vehicle moved to a mass-market brand.
That percentage drops to 6.8% for households with incomes between $100,000 and $150,000, and to 2.8% among those earning more than $500,000.
According to J.D. Power, the data reflects that the growing sophistication of mainstream brand vehicles is reducing one of the traditional advantages of high-end manufacturers and making the luxury badge increasingly less decisive, especially for price-sensitive consumers.
[Publicidad]