US car sales analysis 2020 Q1-Q3 – Midsized Pickups

Sales of midsized pickups in the US are down 9% in the first three quarters of 2020, making it one of the best performing classes after subcompact crossovers and full-sized pickups, but beating compact crossovers. Midsized pickup sales were down 7% in the third quarter. Still, at 4.1% of the total US car market (up from 3.7% in 2019) and almost 4 times lower volume than full-sized pickups, it remains a relatively small segment. The Toyota Tacoma remains untouched by recent new launches and while it’s sales are down 13%, it still holds 38.1% share of the segment and it sells more than double the numbers of its nearest rival. The Ford Ranger manages to consolidate its new-found #2 spot from the Chevrolet Colorado thanks to sales up 32% on its introduction year (+8% in Q3). The Colorado loses 29% of its sales (-14% in Q3) as it is feeling the heat from the fresher Ford. The other newcomer to the segment, the Jeep Gladiator, gained 37% in Q3 but fell further behind the Chevy, after being very close to a top-3 position in the second quarter of the year. The Nissan Frontier is in the final year of its current generation before finally being replaced, although the new Frontier will still be based on the same platform. Its sales are down by more than half and in Q3 it was outsold by the Honda Ridgeline which sees surprisingly stable sales (+3% in Q3). The GMC Canyon remains the class underdog, even though it showed a slight recovery in the third quarter at -13%. It sales are still down 38% for the year.

US midsized pickup sales 2020 Q1-Q3

	Midsized Pickup segment	2020	2019	Change	Share
1	Toyota Tacoma	163.619	187.622	-13%	38,1%
2	Ford Ranger	74.338	56.512	32%	17,3%
3	Chevrolet Colorado	68.529	96.820	-29%	16,0%
4	Jeep Gladiator	56.990	23.374	144%	13,3%
5	Nissan Frontier	26.287	54.686	-52%	6,1%
6	Honda Ridgeline	23.112	23.633	-2%	5,4%
7	GMC Canyon	16.183	26.300	-38%	3,8%
	Segment total	429.058	468.947	-9%

Source: Manufacturers.