To say that the first quarter of 2022 was an odd time for auto sales would be grossly underestimating the situation, like saying Vesuvius barely covered Pompeii. Toyota retained its crown in the U.S. with record sales for models out of production for years, and GM beat Ford in trucks.
What are you waiting for?
It’s an undisguised fact that nearly all dealers have been hit hard by token shortages, and there’s plenty of room for tumbleweeds to wreak havoc around their clearings. This certainly resulted in extremely short turnaround times, with most rigs selling out soon after leaving the truck, if not very early. Unbalanced production and delivery schedules have created odd sales numbers, especially in the hot (and lucrative) truck market.
Check? While the overall ranking of full-size pickups hasn’t changed, take a look at the disappearing delta between perennial leader Ford and its rivals. Those who have gone through basic math can take a moment to sum up the GM’s overall score for the duo on the Blue Oval. For everyone else, we’ll tell you that the Silverado/Sierra was 13,000 units behind the F-Series this time last year — the last quarter, before it all hit the fans and started production. In the bizarre world we’re in now, they now outnumber the king by about 35,000 units. Even though it happened in the past, it’s still amazing, kids.
Here’s a fun fact about truck sales numbers: Ford and Ram put together all of their full-size pickups (1/2 ton and 3/4 ton plus) into one report. GM chose to break them down into the Silverado and Sierra light-duty and heavy-duty trucks, showing that Chevrolet and GMC’s heavy-duty trucks accounted for about a third of S&S twin sales last quarter.In a head-scratching battle of corporate acronyms, GM chooses to name its biggest trucks (those 4500+ series chassis-cab beasts) average service microphone. The heart is shaking.
Other insights that can be parsed from this data include a strong presentation of the new Frontier. We tend to compare its first-quarter success to that of its competitors rather than repeating the 21-year doubling of sales year-over-year; keep in mind that this is a transition year for this model. It’s also worth noting that the Mavericks have significantly outpaced the Rangers in 2021 so far.
Any other thoughts on the Peanuts Gallery numbers? Turn off sound in comments.
[Image: Ford]
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