Toyota overtakes Dodge as third best-selling truckmaker in U.S.
As we all know by now, auto sales are down, dropping by around 18% in 2008. Pick-ups actually fared worse, posting a decline of 26.5% over the same period. Still, the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado maintained their positions as the two best selling vehicles in the United States, and these two manufacturers managed to post incremental increases in total pick-up truck market share after all was said and done.
Those increases came directly from the competition, especially Dodge. The full-size Ram truck managed to see its piece of the pie dwindle by almost one full percentage point. Dodge's drop in overall market share allowed Toyota, for the first time ever, to grab the bronze medal behind Ford and General Motors. However, it's not particularly good news for the Japanese upstart, which owns just 8.52% of the market after seeing Tundra sales fall by over 30% in '08 and well short of its stated goal of 200,000 units per year. The last place trophy goes to Nissan, as its 34,000 sales represent a meager 2.11% of the market.
These market share figures include both full-sizers and their smaller brethren, and it was the Toyota Tacoma and the aging Ford Ranger that made the biggest upward moves among the mid-size pick-ups. Again, the biggest loser award goes to Dodge, which saw its Dakota sales fall nearly 65%, and its Mitsubishi Raider stablemate, which posted an insignificant 2,900 total sales.
[Source: PickupTrucks.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
alegro 9:38AM (1/13/2009)
I'll start: ranger? Mid-size? Are you serious?
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I-man 9:43AM (1/13/2009)
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geo.stewart 9:54AM (1/13/2009)
I-man,
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I-man 10:16AM (1/13/2009)
?
geo.stewart 9:39AM (1/13/2009)
big shock. I probably see more new tacomas than new dodge trucks. Last gen Dodge trucks were their heyday and its been a downward spiral since.
Something has to change at Chryco. soon
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Avinash machado 9:41AM (1/13/2009)
Hopefully the all new Ram will help Dodge get back market share.
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MajorGeek 9:44AM (1/13/2009)
New Ram won't help I think. People are still worried about buying any Chrysler product, I would be if I was in the market. The new Ford truck is getting rave reviews and great crash test ratings. If I was in the market for a new pickup, it would be a no brainer, I would be at my Ford dealership.
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Kattleox 10:00AM (1/13/2009)
No doubt. Ford sure has done a massive face change in little to no time, and without a dime of the bailout money. If it was a new vehicle I was looking for - be it a sedan, hatchback, or truck - I would have to go with Ford.
the vegas style guy 11:59AM (1/13/2009)
Chrysler/Dodge is the only one of the big three that can not win me back. The worst drivng experiences I have had have all involved Chrysler products. From the horrible Valiants in drivers ed to the Diplomat that I took my drivers test in to the Plymouth wagon that had a steering wheel that had never met the direction it was aimed to the Le Baron convertible that went through three (!) transmissions in one year to the horrible trip to Mexico in a Ram, I will NEVER even consider one of their products again.
Sorry.
Btw, one of these pulled up next to me in a parking lot yesterday. HOLY GOD THAT THING WAS HUGE!
I mean ass of Oprah ginormous!
Gas prices are already headed back up, so, Toyota better not get too happy cause a change is gonna come. I've seen smaller lies from the Bush administration!
Huge I tell you!
Huge!
Judy Zik 2:23PM (1/13/2009)
+1
A lot of truck buyers are fleets and businesses that need something solid with a good warranty. The Ram has been less than solid and people have real fears about if the company is going to be around to honour their warranty.
I like the looks of the new Ram as an improvement over the previous one but I wouldn't buy one. The previous Ram was absolutely horrible inside. My brother had one for a while and all and the interior was unforgiveable in my view when you consider what it sold for. A massive panel the size of a laptop folded down with a clunk in the middle of the dash to provide you with two crappy cup holders. The whole interior was like a designer's joke. Fit and finish on everything was like it had been put together by a three year old with a lego set. Considering how important this truck is to Cerbyler I was amazed.
painting 10:01AM (1/13/2009)
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Silly Pickle 9:59AM (1/13/2009)
"Again, the biggest loser award goes to Dodge, which saw its Dakota sales fall nearly 65%"
Doesn't help that it's also the ugliest truck on the market. Too bad the Chinese don't make a truck for this market - then at least it'd only be the 2nd ugliest truck. The old Dakota at least looked good enough to be seen in.
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Indy 10:12AM (1/13/2009)
For those who doubt Toyota FTW!!!
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Jason 10:17AM (1/13/2009)
Only when it comes to mid-size trucks. Their Tundra sales sucked last year. The Ram outsold the Tundra nearly 2-1. Toyota's only real claim to fame in trucks is the Tacoma. But hey, the Tundra did outsell the Titan...
happy_penguin 11:53AM (1/13/2009)
Tundra sucks.
Dan 12:50PM (1/13/2009)
The Ram series outsold the Tundra 1.7:1.
But the Tundra outsold the 1/2 ton Ram.
Brian 10:28AM (1/13/2009)
Most Toyota trucks turn into rust buckets after 5 or 6 years. Rust never sleeps
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Avinash machado 11:30AM (1/13/2009)
Trolls never sleep either.
BradYourCarGuy 4:04PM (1/19/2009)
So how much has Toyota's NASCAR inclusion made on their truck sales in the U.S.? One would expect the pick up truck demographic and the NASCAR demographic to have significant overlap so does being able to identify with this Japanese maker in a more American way help sales? I would say yes.
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Illegal Machine 10:40AM (1/13/2009)
So what this tells me is that the Dodge Ram alone nearly outsells the combined Tundra and Tacoma sales.
Basically, if Dodge TRIED with the Dakota, they'd be stomping Toyota truck sales.
Got it.
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