Why Ford F-Series Is Crushing It in Pickup Sales

Cars and Drivers

Published: March 1, 2018 12:05 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 2:52 am

Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) sold 68,243 F-Series pickups in the United States in February, topping sales of General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) Chevy Silverado by 13,162 units. Even adding in sales of the GMC Sierra, Ford still outsold GM in the monthly pickup wars by nearly 13,000 units.

Ford F-Series pickup sales rose 3.5% year over year in February, compared with a decrease of 16.3% in Silverado sales and a drop of 25.3% in Sierra sales.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.’s (NYSE: FCAU) Ram pickup sales dropped 14% year over year to 33,299 units in the month.

Other full-size pickups on offer in the United States are the Tundra from Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) and the Nissan Titan. Tundra sales for February totaled 7,977, up 10.3% year over year. Nissan reported February Titan sales of 3,761 units, up 25.9% year over year.

Sales of GM’s midsize Chevy Colorado pickup rose 7.1% to 8,050 units and sales of the GMC Canyon dropped 22.1% to 2,319 in February. Toyota sold 16,817 of the company’s midsize Tacoma pickups, up 18% compared with February of last year.

Nissan’s midsize Frontier pickup sold 7,992 units in February, a jump of 68.8% year over year. Honda Motor Co. Ltd. (NYSE: HMC) sold 2,209 midsize Ridgeline pickups in the month, down by 32.3% year over year.

The sudden sales strength from Toyota and Nissan followed on the introduction of new versions of their trucks this year. Even in the midsize class, the new models are beating up on the Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon.

Ford’s 2018 F-Series is new and has beaten both GM and FCA to market with a new truck. The 2019 Ram pickup is due in showrooms by late summer or early fall, and the 2019 GM trucks are due by the end of the year. Until then, it would appear that only more attractive incentives are going to generate more sales.

In the full-size pickup segment, January sales of 156,986 vehicles from the Detroit Three pencils out to a Ford market share of 43.5% (a month-over-month increase of 2.3 percentage points). GM’s share came in at 26.9% for the Chevy Silverado (down 1.6 points) and 8.4% (down 3.4 points) for the GMC Sierra. Ram’s market share totaled 21.2% (down 1.2 points).

In 2017, Ford’s share of the full-size pickup market came in at 39.7%, while Silverado nabbed 26%, Sierra took 9.6% and Ram rang up 24.7%.

24/7 Wall St.
The Best and Worst Car Brands According to Consumer Reports

Travel Cards Are Getting Too Good To Ignore

Credit card companies are pulling out all the stops, with the issuers are offering insane travel rewards and perks.

We’re talking huge sign-up bonuses, points on every purchase, and benefits like lounge access, travel credits, and free hotel nights. For travelers, these rewards can add up to thousands of dollars in flights, upgrades, and luxury experiences every year.

It’s like getting paid to travel — and it’s available to qualified borrowers who know where to look.

We’ve rounded up some of the best travel credit cards on the market. Click here to see the list. Don’t miss these offers — they won’t be this good forever.