Blog Posts
Best-Selling Pickup Trucks: Fourth Quarter 2018
The sales numbers for the final quarter of 2018 are in and it looks like most pickup truck makers did well. In fact, the entire segment came within a hair of reaching the coveted 3-million-unit mark, with an overall total of 2,944,393 units sold in 2018 (that tops the 2017 total by more than 120,000). For context, that means 1 out of every 6 new vehicles sold in 2018 had a pickup bed on it, and in some states (like Texas) that number was considerably higher.
The biggest winners in the last quarter of 2018 are also some of the same players that had strong third quarter sales results. Ram pickups, the Toyota Tacoma and Chevrolet Colorado finished the year with a strong second half, each one of them blowing 2017's totals out of the water. In fact, Ram finished 2018 by outselling Chevrolet Silverado in the last two quarters of the year, which should make for an interesting start for the new year.
Ford finished 2018 with a bang, selling more F-Series pickups than in any of the 11 months prior; December is traditionally Ford's best-selling month. Since Ford will benefit from the addition of the all-new 2019 Ranger mid-size pickup, it is quite possible Ford will aim to sell more than 1 million pickup trucks in 2019. We'll have to wait and see what the economy, specifically the construction sector, has in store for us once the winter thaws. We'll have more sales details about how the different pickup classes broke down next week.
In related news, Automotive News (subscription required) is reporting that Ford will move to quarterly sales reporting in 2019 just like GM did in 2018. The Ford transition to quarterly reporting will begin in April.
*Year-over-year sales for the Chevrolet Silverado were flat.
