US sales 2015 first half Small Pick-up segment

The Small Pick-up segment grew by a very fast 62% compared to the first half of 2014, driven primarily by the re-entry of GM into the segment with their new Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks. After a one-year absence the small GM trucks did well out of the gates, racking up the best combined sales since 2008. It marks a change of strategy for the company, though, since whereas the previous generation of trucks was designed in the US and then sold abroad (also as an Isuzu), the current generation was actually developed primarily for the Asian market, and only then adapted for sales in the US (where it sports a considerably different front).

Irrespective of the warm reception that the new GW twins have received the Toyota Tacoma remains the segment leader, racking up more than half as many sales as the second-placed Chevy at almost 89 thousand units. This is despite a new, third-generation model having already been announced in Detroit in January, and which will go on sale in the third quarter of the year. Such a performance sure beats that of the aging Nissan Frontier, which has been on the market since 2004, and a new generation of which has already gone on sale in Asian markets (where it’s called the Navara). It will be interesting to see whether Nissan’s strong form in other segments can translate into the Small Pick-up segment once the new generation goes on sale.