GM Gains 2% Market Share And Takes Sales Crown From Ford

GM Gains 2% Market Share And Takes Sales Crown From Ford - or - Why Ford needs the Ford Ranger!

One year ago, for the first half of 2017, General Motors and Ford were tied in the U.S. market for pickup trucks, with 32% market share each. One year later, GM grew an astounding 12% whereas Ford grew "only" 5%, so GM has now raced up to 34% market share whereas Ford is stuck at "only" 32% market share.

In the U.S. market, 18% of pickup trucks sold are the midsize kind, up from 16% a year ago.

The midsize segment grew 20% in the first half of 2018, whereas the fullsize segment grew 3%. Hence, given the "starting level" of those two segment sizes, the midsize pickup trucks expanded from 16% of the market to 18%.

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Resource: https://seekingalpha.com/article/4186028-gm-gains-2-percent-market-share-takes-u-s-pickup-truck-sales-crown-ford

It frustrates me that Ford has never given the Ford Ranger enough credit here in North America. It frustrated me that when we went to Detroit for the debut of the Ford Ranger, I felt like we had more experience with the Ranger than the Ford team did, and they never asked us any questions, or tried to get input on from guys who have driven, beat up on, and wrenched on these trucks for years.

It's a great truck, and I wish I could take it out on a cross country adventure and promote it. I left the debut feeling like they should have hired me to promote it. God knows I love the truck, and have been a huge advocate and online promoter of the Ford Ranger for 19 years now.

When the last Ford Ranger rolled across the line, I wrote:

According to a quote from Ford spokesman Mike Levine at autos.yahoo.com, “The compact pickup segment in the U.S. has been declining from almost 8% of total industry sales in 1994 to 2% of industry sales in 2010”, and “The F-Series works best for customers in North America.”

Well Mike, you’ve been offering the same platform since 1998. You can’t expect people to buy the same design for 13 years. In fact, the interior, cab and bed is almost identical to a 1994 model. Actually Autoguide.com reports that sales continued to grow during the decade, peaking in 1999 at some 348,358 units. That means sales dropped off as the Ranger went unchanged. Even with its outdated design, Ford still sold 70,832 Rangers in 2011, which was a 27.9% increase over 2010.

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See: http://www.therangerstation.com/articles/the-last-north-american-ranger/

Later, I wrote another article discussing how the demand for a midsize truck was there:

Ford still sold 70,832 Rangers in 2011, which was a 27.9% increase over 2010.

If you start looking at the numbers, you’ll quickly see that there was a market for the Ford Ranger. Ford was selling a truck that had little change from 1998-2011 (13-years).

Did Ford’s dream of former Ford Ranger owners becoming Ford F-150 owners come true? Is the smaller pickup market dead? It’s highly unlikely. In fact, Chevrolet will be bringing back the Chevy Colorado in the fall of 2014.

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See: http://www.therangerstation.com/articles/north-american-2015-ford-ranger/

I suspected that Ford would eventually HAVE to bring the Ranger back to a market they didn't believe existed.

The recent news supports the fact that Ford NEEDS the Ranger to regain it's crown in truck sales.

I'm hopeful from our discussion with Ford that they're going to take the new Ranger more serious than its predecessor.

All hail the Ford Ranger! And give us a damn Ranger Raptor!

I appreciate everyone who has shared this. My intent was to drive home the fact that the midsize Ranger is very much needed in this country and the sales reflect that. The F-150 has been Ford's baby, but it's time they start realizing the true impact they can have on a North American market with the Ford Ranger. We need them to see that there is a strong interest here for the Ford Ranger if we ever want to see the Ranger Raptor come here. Believe It or Not, Ford does look at social media, and they do listen to what the customers are saying. But only the loudest voices are really ever heard.

it was protectionism. they were looking for 50 solid for the f series...


and it failed.



good.

they deserve it.

my boss went and got me a brand new 250. i could not fit in it. if it had not happened to me i would have had a hard time believing it....

the seats were like a torture device... i sat in a ton of trucks and have used just about every make and style...

so i was not overly concerned when they told me i was getting a new 250... i knew it would be a period of adjustment to break myself into the shitty seats they (work trucks) typically come with, short of a high end package, you know... full power leather with major adjustability.

but to this point in my fuking entire life... i never sat in one that put my fat head into the ceiling before either...hell...i dont think short of a dodge...i have got into a full size truck that i could not get in and out wearing my hard hat...let alone no hat.

of course i got a high bracket unicorn...my head touched the ceiling and i had to look down through the windshield....i have to practically live in these trucks so it was a no go. i felt like a douche turning it away...but the more i thought about it the better i felt...my cb and phone booster antennas, strobe lights and wide load signs ect wont work with the aluminum body for rig moves......sooooo i can live with this silverado easier.


i did find a few more trucks in michigan with the stupid brackets that stuff my big fat head into the roof... but they were unable to figure out any numbers on how they get that way...i figured its a south american build shipped to the wrong place


...now i am in a 15 silverado thats beat to death with a 130 k on it as i had to give my new truck to someone it would fit. they had already customized the damn thing with bumpers and shit before i got it, so it wasnt going back. and a new seat is 3 months out and 2 grand...so fawk it.

i went home and got my ranger yesterday just so i have something to drive after work that isnt miserable (and it needs maintenance) if it had air conditioning i would probably just use it.......makes me miss drilling the wells instead of service work.

dont get me wrong...i am crippled a bit with serious back issues so that is a factor, but every guy i have talked to from all of the other support companies absolutely would not choose the ford they are in because they are miserable pieces of shit as far as the seats go in the fleet trucks. (and we are mostly ford fans)...to me that is disgusting. they dont have a choice...the trucks are bought and forced on them. you get what you get or buy comm/umbrella and drive your own shit for free.

so ford....they dont deserve the crown these days.

what i learned interacting with the ranger team underlined it...

i did not mean to...but i know i pissed the head guy off when told him his experiences in oz didnt mean shit. they can not run 40's down there like we do here...our reality for adventure is not the same.

of course the extreme is also the small side of the market.

i remain optimistic for the ranger platform though. i will likely lease one to see if it is worthy.

then i will buy and build based on the results..

“But the market has changed, people want 4 door trucks now...”

It frustrated me that when we went to Detroit for the debut of the Ford Ranger, I felt like we had more experience with the Ranger than the Ford team did

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Jim, I have quite a bit of experience dealing first hand with Ford's people. Technical Hotline engineers, design engineers, field service engineers, warranty adjusters, even type editors at the service manual division.

I am quite certain that between you, Bobby, and myself that constitutes more knowledge about the Ranger in general than all of Ford has ever had. And that leaves out all the others here with considerable knowledge about these trucks.

adsm08 said:

Jim, I have quite a bit of experience dealing first hand with Ford's people. Technical Hotline engineers, design engineers, field service engineers, warranty adjusters, even type editors at the service manual division.

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My brother got to tour the hotline place for winning a tech challenge thing last fall... the tech hotline folks didn’t like the feedback from his group.

So.....are we talking total truck sales, or did the Silverado dethrone the F series?

If so, i can see why. The new 150s are ass ugly next to the silverado. Plus, GM still offers A couple choices of V8. As much as ford wants/can compete with a 6, theres still alot of traditionlist out there, myself included.

Tone down the 90s RC car styling and offer the 6.2.

EDIT...

The 2019 Jeep Scrambler looks more promising for something to be interested in....



V6/6sp with 2 solid axles....yup count me in.

Jim Oaks said:

It frustrates me that Ford has never given the Ford Ranger enough credit here in North America. It frustrated me that when we went to Detroit for the debut of the Ford Ranger, I felt like we had more experience with the Ranger than the Ford team did, and they never asked us any questions, or tried to get input on from guys who have driven, beat up on, and wrenched on these trucks for years.

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If it makes you feel any better they don't really care what the people that work on them every day think of their product either. My brother just changed the heads on a 2.7EB, IIRC it paid 17 hours under warranty which means it actually takes longer.

There is actually becoming a shortage of techs because of it. Their shop foreman just left for a independent shop over it.

adsm08 said:

I am quite certain that between you, Bobby, and myself that constitutes more knowledge about the Ranger in general than all of Ford has ever had. And that leaves out all the others here with considerable knowledge about these trucks.

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But not much we know about the ol' Ranger applies to the new one either. They don't have much reason to care about how the feedback system on a 2.8 sucked, the A4LD was a decent prototype transmission at best, the SOHC timing chain system is a joke, how to swap in a slobberin' GM diesel or how to add bluetooth to a factory 1980's head unit.

Its a clean slate, I know more about a X-Wing than the new truck and I actually got to see of the new trucks in real life.

Had they asked me:
Make it easy to work on (and they would have laughed)
Knock 6-8" off the bed side height (and they would have laughed)
Can we get a delete center console option? (and they would have laughed)
Integrated brake controller option (we did ask so they might interpolate there is interest... fingers crossed)
12v power point in bed (Jim did ask)
Truck offset wheels instead of this FWD offset crap.

Otherwise I know nothing about the powertrain. 2.3EB sounds good. 2.8 had best in class power which sounds good too until you meet the 110 raging Shetland ponies that relies on a rube goldberg carburator/ignition system to get all that brute power.

Same goes for the 10spd. Supposed to be based on the F-150 10spd which sounds great but did they neuter it like they did with the V6 C5 vs the V8 C5 where they changed clutches around so it really isn't the same anymore?

We have to know something before we can give them any real advice.

FWIW the guy that introduced the Ranger started for Ford working on the Ranger in the late 80's and at the time of the new Ranger release was in charge of Ford North America. He later got in trouble and had to resign...

That said the Detroit trip was a riot and I am still very honored I got to go. I figured they already more or less had the truck they were going to bring here dialed in and asking for input would have probably just been lip service anyway.

I just want the option of someday buying a single cab 4x4 work truck (the new Ranger, that is.) I know I am probably in a tiny minority since the trend seems to be geared towards higher end models and that's what sells... but I'm gonna have to make the two I have now last forever if they don't build what I want.

I agree about the high bedsides. Hate that about virtually all new trucks.

FWIW regarding interiors - I have a 2010 Silverado 1500 at work and a 2007 F250 XL at home. The Chevy has cloth buckets, the F250 has a vinyl bench seat. I find the F250 to be a LOT more comfortable simply because I have room to move around. The seats in the Chevy are fairly comfortable but it feels claustrophobic.

I think the single cab 4x4 will look awesome lifted.

Jim:

I'm confused as to what the Ranger has to do with full size sales.

In '17, Ford sold just under 900k F-150s, while GMs sold just over 800k Sierras/Silverados. So, Ford won the full size market.

But GM sold 145k Canyon/Colorados, so the truck crown is GMCs (It has been since '15 when production of GMC's mid size trucks hit their stride).

And if GMC is ahead of Ford on fullsize, they made massive gains in Q2 as they were 40k units behind at end of Q1. (In fact GMC was behind F series for total trucks at end of Q1).

Now, I agree they need a smaller truck to compliment the F-150, but I wouldn't might a whole line up like they have in SUVs: Excursion -> Expedition -> Explorer -> Escape -> EcoSport. You could have SuperDuty -> F-150 -> Ranger -> Courier.

And my "Courier" could be a Unibody/FWD - it going to be an urban 'lifestyle' truck, not what dad needed on farm.

85_Ranger4x4: Population wants large vehicles. CAFE has made it impossible for manufacturers to build a Crown Vic, so the alternative is a 4 door pickup.

My '17 F-150 only has 3" more bedside than my dad's '68 did, so knocking 8" off might be a little much - knocking off 3" from the T6 makes it the same as our old Rangers.

Craig0320
Wouldn't look bad as lowered 4x2 either (needs to be just 6' box single cab though)

don4331 said:

85_Ranger4x4: Population wants large vehicles. CAFE has made it impossible for manufacturers to build a Crown Vic, so the alternative is a 4 door pickup.

My '17 F-150 only has 3" more bedside than my dad's '68 did, so knocking 8" off might be a little much - knocking off 3" from the T6 makes it the same as our old Rangers.

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I want a 4 door too. Not sure where the anti large vehicles thing comes from.

I am good with my Ranger's bed depth, the T6's bed looks much thicker but I didn't get a chance to really put a tape to it and measure it. I really do not care for the rearward advisability of my dad's 05 F-150, a little goes a long ways vs even my '02 150.

cafe did not simpy kill the crown vic. it was a factor to some considerable degree, but going all aluminum with a eb engine would have eliminated cafe as a problem. the limited non fleet/police sales killed it by not being able to make up the cost of just the powertrain upgrade let alone lighter crash improved structure. the ranger did not have that issue at least. an awd ecoboost vic would be sweet though.

mulally killed the vic with the way forward plan....they actually detailed some of the consolidation at the debut as far as campus consolidations ect..


i have familiarity with the rangers powertrain save for the 10 speed.

my 2nd eldest daughter went back to a fusion due to the issues with the 2.3 eb in the mustang. now she is in a subaru. but had eb fusions as well

my eldest daughter is likely getting a 150 soon to replace the grand cherokee because she is about to have a second child. she was the only one not driving a ford till now or ever having a ford for personal use. her hubby has a fusion though.


the younger daughter exiting the air force right now has had 3 ecoboost 4 whizzer variant via fusion/lincoln/escape

i have had one in the edge and there is an escape 1.5 eb at the house along with a n/a explorer.


i like the big 2.0/2.3 4 whizzer for sure.

so i have gaurded optimism about the rangers ability to do ok in its natural habitat and stock unmolested platform. what bugs me was no diesel right out of the gate.






regardless, point of the thread is a simple truth....should have never axed the ranger.

they would have retained the king title...

should have just offered the ecoboost 4 whixxer as the big gun and the mazda n/a 4 whixxer that was already in it till they brought in the t platform...which i still say should be called an f100 and make an escape based truck and call it a ranger.

What killed the Vic was the same thing that killed the ranger. Never being redesigned. The Vic was axed in 2011, just like the ranger, and it had solidered on a year longer then the ranger (92 vs 93).

Ford missed a huge oppertunity to revitalize the vic. Chryslers Charger/300 platform sold like wildfire untill the past couple years (it to has been ignored for years). But it showed there was still a market for big, 4 door, RWD sedans with some oomph.

The Vic had potential. Big Potential. It could of, with some $$$ spent, eaisly outperformed mopars offerings. A good restyle, a 3V 5.4 (untill the coyote/EB came out), and a few interior tweaks (think the LX sport with a slightly less commercial dash) and the charger woulda had a fight on its hands. Keep the full frame/live rear to keep the law enforcement happy, and you had a winner.

But, that being said, all ford cares about is selling anything under the Fseries banner, and have for years.

rusty ol ranger said:

Ford missed a huge oppertunity to revitalize the vic. Chryslers Charger/300 platform sold like wildfire untill the past couple years (it to has been ignored for years). But it showed there was still a market for big, 4 door, RWD sedans with some oomph.

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It is amusing the Mopars do as well as they do, they still ride on a recylced/retired Mercedes running gear that was old when they came out. I don't think the 300C is long for this world, it is the only car Chrysler still makes.

rusty ol ranger said:

But, that being said, all ford cares about is selling anything under the Fseries banner, and have for years.

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They have a freaking huge markup on them, they are cash cows and everybody wants to throw more optional stuff on them which makes them even more money.