The 2012 sales year was kind to heavy-duty pickups, which worked out well for truckmakers given these vehicles are significant profit centers. Based on 2012 R.L. Polk data from new vehicle retail registrations for full-size pickups in the U.S., the three-quarter-ton and one-ton market managed to get about 20 percent of the total pickup sales.
We've decided to split the 2500 and 3500 segments apart to give you an idea how the sales numbers differ. As you might expect, this segment is heavily dominated by the turbodiesel engine choice, with each manufacturer averaging above 80 percent in their respective one-ton truck offering. Of course, certain premium-level heavy-duty models are only offered with the diesel engine choice.
Interestingly, the overall take rates for their respective big-diesel engine choice (when calculating both three-quarter-ton and one-ton pickups together) is more than 85 percent for Ram HDs, about 68 percent for Ford Super Dutys, 55 percent for GMC and 45 percent for Chevy. As you may have surmised, the 2500 HD (both the Sierra HD at 50 percent and Silverado HD at 35 percent) trucks still sell a lot of gasoline 6.0-liter V-8s in the segment.
Next, we'll take a closer look at the midsize segment, as well as how well each of the pickup truck makers did for 2012.
Detroit dominance...don't think Toyota wants to compete here yet.
If I had to buy a truck today, I'd have to go for the F150 FX2, though the price no object one would be the Raptor...didn't like the options offered on the Tundra. Toyota and Ford are partnered up in future technologies.
If I had to buy a truck today, I'd have to go for the F150 FX2, though the price no object one would be the Raptor...didn't like the options offered on the Tundra. Toyota and Ford are partnered up in future technologies.
That would be a good choice. Raptor is nice as well, Maybe the Ford/Toyota partnership will be better than when Toyota worked with GM
If Ford had ever offered the Cummins I6 as an engine option, they'd probably have sold nearly double those numbers. I've owned 1 truck made by each of the Big 3, and I liked the Super Duty best by far. Only thing I didn't like was the V8 diesel.
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'92 ST185 All trac turbo
'91 Cressida
'72 TE27
It's no secret the compact/midsize segment is still going through an adjustment phase with the Ford Ranger and Dodge Dakota leaving some significant gaps in the number of options small pickup buyers now have. In fact, we've seen some interesting sales changes happening to this segment due to their absence.
Additionally, changes will be coming as GM plans to bring the next-generation Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon to the U.S. by next year. Likewise, there have been persistent rumors about a small pickup with a unibody platform in the works from automakers like Ford or Hyundai. And VW continually teases us about the possibility of bringing the Amarok to the U.S. as well.
It's worth noting again that the numbers we're using came from R.L. Polk, provider of automotive information, and are based on 2012 new-vehicle registrations for pickup trucks in the U.S. These numbers will vary slightly when compared to the monthly sales numbers we report throughout the year because that data is supplied to us from the manufacturers and include the number of pickups that have been delivered to dealerships and not actual sales.
We also wanted to look at the entire pickup truck category to see how the different truckmakers compared for the year. The results are interesting and hopefully point to another strong year for 2013.
According to registration data from R.L. Polk, the Toyota Tacoma easily took the crown as America's best-selling mid-sized pickup, with 133,477 units rolling into new homes in 2012. For comparison, the second-place Nissan Frontier only saw 50,566 registrations.
We feel compelled to point out that before Ford pulled the plug on its ancient Ranger, the company was moving some 75,000 units per year. That number had shriveled to 15,662 by 2012, which was still enough to surpass the Honda Ridgeline. Interestingly enough, one person brought home a brand-new Hummer H3T as well. But mid-sized trucks represent only a fraction of total pickup sales. Dealers sold a total of 241,471 midsizers last year compared to 988,326 half-tons.
That segment was dominated by General Motors with 533,814 sales followed by Ford at 478,204. Ram Trucks trailed behind in third with 241,204 units with Toyota close behind at 229,769. Nissan, meanwhile, remains a distant fifth.
Looks like Toyota isn't doing too shabby if they're only selling a few thousand less than Ram total. Of course, the Tacoma is doing most of the work rather than the Tundra.
Looks like Toyota isn't doing too shabby if they're only selling a few thousand less than Ram total. Of course, the Tacoma is doing most of the work rather than the Tundra.
Add that the Dakota was a utter turd. I can't think of a single reason to pick the Dakota over the Ram...even on fuel economy the Dakota V6 was thirstier than the Ram Hemi V8. I'm so glad this is probably the final year I'll ever have to drive those things ever again, definitely the worst truck I've ever driven.
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1986 MX-73 Cressida 5M-GE 290,000+ kms - SOLD (1986-2013)
2004 GD-67 Impreza EJ25 230,000+ kms - new daily
Add that the Dakota was a utter turd. I can't think of a single reason to pick the Dakota over the Ram...even on fuel economy the Dakota V6 was thirstier than the Ram Hemi V8. I'm so glad this is probably the final year I'll ever have to drive those things ever again, definitely the worst truck I've ever driven.
I think the Dakota was a product of the pre-bankruptcy Chrysler. I remember riding in a Mitsubishi Raider, which was a rebadged Dakota. I agree, the truck was garbage. Even the Eclipse that I last rented wasn't anything to write home about, as it was the last remnants of the Mitsu/Chrysler era.
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