Sales Roundup: Ram Beats Up On Chevy, Korean Brands Rake In Dough

Surprising exactly no one, Americans continue to snap up light trucks and SUV apace, driving manufacturers like Subaru to month-over-month gains in June. In fact, the Exploding Galaxy is continuing a remarkably torrid sales streak, chalking up 91 consecutive months of year-over-year growth. The beauty of all wheel drive, indeed.

That rumbling you hear are Chevrolet execs jumping over furniture to try and comprehend their sudden relegation to third place in the perpetual fight for pickup truck supremacy. Through to the end of June, Ram has trounced Silverado to the tune of about 50,000 units.

Ooooh; don’t you hate that burning smell?

A note about GM and Ford numbers: thanks to their new reporting practices, and since June marks the end of a quarter, the YTD numbers are accurate as per The General’s and the Blue Oval’s own figures. In terms of individual nameplates, it is worth noting that Blazer has sold 11,772 in Q2, a number that nearly outstrips the Camaro. We’ll be keeping an eye on it to see how the sporty and ‘spensive crossover does when the end of Q3 rolls around.

As for the pick’em up truck race, It is generally a foregone conclusion that the F-Series will lead the pack, though we won’t know that detail until tomorrow when Ford holds its sales call. Infuriatingly, the Blue Oval is increasingly marching to the offbeat of their very own drummer. [edit: Ford’s numbers added; noon, July 3] Such is their prerogative. Combined, the Silverado and Sierra counted for 352,866 sales compared to Ram’s 299,480.

The key to Ram’s success? Selling the new and old truck side by each doesn’t hurt, especially since they generally trade at very different price points. It is also suggested that Ram is layering on incentives like gravy. There’s also the matter of GM’s interior being ill-received in most corners of the internet compared to Ram’s lavish cabins. According to numbers from Kelly Blue Book, Ram has topped Silverado every month since Q4 of last year.

Elsewhere, Toyota and Nissan both slipped in the first half of 2019, ringing up declines of 3.1 percent and 8.2 percent, respectively. Mazda’s also off by a shocking 15.5 percent so far this year, representing about 25,000 cars vanishing from the corporate balance sheet. The Korean duo of Hyundai and Kia are healthy, as is the Genesis brand now that they’ve sorted out various and sundry supply problems. Look for that brand to continue to grow once they get a few crossovers into their showroom, a product development that should happen within the next twelve months.

There was one less selling day in this June compared to last year.

[Image: FCA]