Part of Ford Motor Co.’s (NYSE: F) teetering plan to improve its fortunes between now and 2020 depends on the sales of its flagship F-Series pickup. To give some idea of the scale of its importance, Ford sold 179,518 vehicles in September in the United States. F-Series sales were 59,863. However, the F-Series is losing ground to primary rivals — the Chevy Silverado from General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler’s Dodge Ram.

F-Series pickup sales continued to lead those of all cars and light trucks sold in the United States. But its September sales were down 1% from the same month last year. In second place in U.S. sales, the Silverado sold 50,176 units in September, up a remarkable 54.4%. In third place, the Ram sold 36,612 units, higher than September 2013 by 30.1%. September was not an aberration. F-Series sales for the first nine months of the year were down 0.4% to 557,037. Silverado sales rose 5.9% to 382,153 in that time. Arguably Ram’s success is the most impressive, with sales higher by 21.9% to 319,868.

Optimists about Ford’s pickup sales say that a new version of the F-150 model will make sales rise sharply. It will go on sale later this year. The promotion for the truck is that it will be made of “military-grade aluminum alloy and high-strength steel.” The F-150’s “toughness” has been measured in laboratories, according to Ford. However, this may be lost on the typical pickup buyer.

All the new F-150 pickup features might not stem the rise in market share of the Silverado and Ram. They are “tough” too, presumably. In the case of Silverado, Chevy offers sharp discounts with the Crew Cab LT All-Star. It carries total incentives that add up to $8,500. GM may not make much profit on this, but it certainly has set a reason for people to buy its pickup instead of others. Ram promotes itself as “Motor Trend Truck of the Year for 2014.” Apparently, that is not enough to draw customers by itself. Ram also carries a financing plan of “0% APR and no monthly payments for 90 days.”

Ford may be about to launch a new version of the F-150. It will have to compete against a wall of incentives and rivals that already have improving sales.

ALSO READ: GM Sales Soar 19% in September on Pickups, SUVs

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