U.S. automakers Friday reported another year of stable sales of pickup trucks, as discounts during the crucial holiday season and lower interest rates on vehicle loans attracted buyers.

Passenger cars have fallen out of favor with buyers amid lower oil prices and automakers have focused on selling larger sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and pickups that are also more profitable.

December is among the hottest months for auto sales in the United States as buyers take advantage of significant discounts provided by the car manufacturers to clear inventory.

Analysts expect overall 2019 U.S. sales to fall by about 1 percent from 2018, but still finish above 17 million vehicles for the fifth consecutive year.

But sales could dip below the 17-million mark this year, industry experts have warned, as the demand has peaked following the long bull-run since the 2008 financial crisis.

“Pent-up demand among consumers is drained,” said Haig Stoddard, senior industry analyst at forecasting and analytics firm Wards Intelligence, adding that he expects sales to dip further this year.

Auto consultants LMC Automotive and J.D. Power have forecast total light-vehicle demand to decline 1.4 percent to 16.8 million units in 2020.

“Manufacturers will face a lot of pressure to stand out in a crowded market with nearly 60 percent more redesigned or new entries in 2020 than there were in 2019,” Jeff Schuster, LMC Automotive global vehicle forecasts president, wrote last week.

Overall incentive spending by automakers as a percentage of vehicle retail prices remains close to 11 percent, the highest level since the 2008 recession, according to the auto consultants. (SD-Agencies)