ATLANTA, Dec. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- 2013 was the year of the full-size truck, according to new car shoppers on AutoTrader.com®.  Trucks made up nearly half of the top 20 most popular new vehicles on the site this year, including three of the top five.

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Aligning with its longstanding status as the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., the Ford F-150 retained its place as the most popular new vehicle on AutoTrader.com in 2013, followed by the Jeep Wrangler, Ram 1500, Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Silverado 1500.

"The full-size truck segment is historically the most popular vehicle segment on our site, but it grew this year to garner more than 20 percent share of shopper interest," said Isabelle Helms, vice president of Research and Market Intelligence, AutoTrader.com. "We believe this is due to a combination of growth in the housing and construction sectors and the number of models that were all-new for the 2013 and 2014 model years."

From a brand perspective, Ford had the most vehicles in the top 20 with six, including the year's biggest mover, the Ford Fusion, which moved up 16 spots compared to 2012 to be the 16^th most popular vehicle on the site. Chevrolet was next with four, including the all-new Silverado and Corvette. The Honda Accord and GMC Sierra also saw solid growth compared to 2012, up six and four spots in rank, respectively.

"The Ford Fusion was particularly dominant earlier in the year because the 2013 model was all-new," Helms explained. "Corvette's place on the list is a bit deceiving, because interest declined through most of the year as shoppers waited for the 2014 model, but once listings for the all-new vehicle were posted on the site interest skyrocketed, and it was among the top three most popular vehicles on the site for the last three months of the year."  

The most popular vehicles are determined by analyzing the number of car shoppers who click on a listing for a new car for sale on AutoTrader.com.  This methodology goes beyond search to illustrate which cars shoppers are actively interested in learning more about, and is reflective of the new vehicles dealers are offering for sale. More than 16 million car shoppers visit AutoTrader.com each month.

About AutoTrader.com 
Created in 1997, Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com is the Internet's ultimate automotive marketplace. As a leading resource for car shoppers and sellers, AutoTrader.com aggregates millions of new, used and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of dealers and private sellers and provides expert articles and reviews. AutoTrader.com, which also operates the AutoTraderClassics.com® auto marketing brand, is wholly owned by AutoTrader Group™. Additionally, AutoTrader Group owns Kelley Blue Book® (KBB.com) as well as three other companies that provide a full suite of software tools that help dealers and manufacturers manage their inventory and advertising online: vAuto®, HomeNet Automotive® and VinSolutions®.  AutoTrader Group is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. Providence Equity Partners is a 25 percent owner of the company. For more information, please visit http://press.autotrader.com.

SOURCE AutoTrader.com