Average car prices continued to rise in 2024, fueled by sales of large SUVs and pickup trucks. Brandon Bell/Getty ImagesCar shoppers are more price-conscious, benefiting sedans like the Honda Civic.Shoppers entering the car market this year are likely to experience sticker shock.The big, expensive SUVs that pad automakers' bottom lines may be in trouble.The sedan isn't dead yet.Small, affordable cars — like the sedans that were all but abandoned by the American automotive industry in the last decade — are poised to have a good year in 2025.Many would-be car buyers who spent the last few years waiting for interest rates to come down finally started shopping again last year, only to find that cars have gotten a lot bigger and more expensive than the last time they were on the lot."We're going to see a lot of sticker shock," Ivan Drury, an automotive analyst for car-shopping website Edmunds, told Business Insider.The average price of a new car hit $49,740 in December, up 1.3% from the same month a year ago and continuing a yearslong inflationary trend as automakers look to give Americans what they want: Bigger and flashier SUVs, that just so happen to be super profitable, too.But in a year when American consumers became more price-conscious, it has become clear the few affordable options that do exist are in higher demand.The most popular cars in America last year, according to Edmunds data, skewed toward more affordable models like the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Tesla Model Y.