Are you considering to buy a truck or a light vehicle? Now, we got a reports from editor of freep.com. Details as below:

Several categories of new vehicles have gained market share over the past four years, while others have lost favor.

Small car sales are up more than a third, and middle cars are up by more than a fifth.

One reason why Asian automakers now have a higher U.S. new light vehicle share (48% October 2009 YTD, according to Autodata, Inc.) than either the domestics (44%) or Europeans (8%) is that, for many years, Asian automakers have offered a wide array of competitive products in all three of these flourishing categories.

Asian automakers, also were the first to market crossovers in the U.S. in both the non-luxury (CR-V, RAV4, Forester) and luxury (RX Series) arenas.

On the other hand, pickups have lost ground since 2005, ceding more than five points of share.

Surprisingly, both small and large pickups have declined despite the fact that small cars have gained ground. One explanation for this is that, because of its limited functionality, the small pickup does not act as a substitute for the larger version.

Minivans also have suffered, and they now account for just one of every 25 new vehicle sales.

Large car market share has retreated as well, and just one of every one hundred new vehicles sold is a large car. In fact, when the Buick Lucerne, Ford Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis are discontinued (as planned and announced by their respective manufacturers), this segment (as defined by Autodata) will no longer have any production models.

Truck-based sport utilities, once one of the largest segments in the industry and including such heretofore high-volume models as the Ford Explorer and Chevrolet TrailBlazer, has declined by almost half, and now accounts for about the same volume as luxury cars.

Despite the dramatic decline in truck-based utilities, the combined share for these products and car-based crossovers has remained constant at about a quarter of the industry. This suggests that the functionality common to both these categories – SUV-like styling, off-road capability, seating up to nine, among others – continues to appeal to the American consumer.

Another category that has remained a constant part of the new vehicle market is luxury cars, but this segment also remains very small. Just eight of every 100 new vehicle buyers choose a luxury car, an ominously small amount given that there are currently 12 luxury car brands. Any potential new owners of Saab or Volvo need to be aware of how brutally competitive the U.S. luxury market is.

Given these segment share shifts since 2005 and the likelihood that such movement will continue, full-line vehicle manufacturers need to offer products in as many segments as possible and be able to quickly switch production among segments as well.