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GMC Canyon Sales Take Last Place In Segment In Q1 2020

GMC Canyon sales decreased in the United States and Canada during the first quarter of 2020.

GMC Canyon Sales - Q1 2020 - United States

In the United States, GMC Canyon deliveries totaled 4,483 units in Q1 2020, a decrease of about 36 percent compared to 6,954 units sold in Q1 2019.
MODEL Q1 2020 / Q1 2019 Q1 2020 Q1 2019
CANYON -35.53% 4,483 6,954

GMC Canyon Sales - Q1 2020 - Canada

In Canada, GMC Canyon deliveries totaled 703 units in Q1 2020, a decrease of about 29 percent compared to 993 units sold in Q1 2019.
MODEL Q1 2020 / Q1 2019 Q1 2020 Q1 2019
CANYON -29.21% 703 993

Despite the GMC brand being available in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the Canyon is sold exclusively in the U.S. and Canada. In Mexico, the Canyon is not available, though its platform mate, the Chevrolet Colorado, is.

Competitive Sales Comparison

The GMC Canyon sales performance during the first quarter of 2020 puts the midsize pickup truck in last place in its segment in terms of cumulative sales volume, behind the Toyota Tacoma in first place, the Canyon’s corporate cousin – the Chevrolet Colorado – which is now in second place (see running Chevrolet Colorado sales), the new Ford Ranger in third (see running Ford Ranger sales), the all-new Jeep Gladiator in fourth, and the archaic Nissan Frontier in fifth.

Notably, the Tacoma’s 53,636 deliveries were almost twice that of combined Colorado and Canyon sales, which netted 25,913 units combined.

Sales Numbers - Midsize Mainstream Pickup Trucks - Q1 2020 - USA

MODEL Q1 20 / Q1 19 Q1 20 Q1 19 Q1 20 SHARE Q1 19 SHARE
TOYOTA TACOMA -7.81% 53,636 58,183 43% 45%
CHEVROLET COLORADO -36.02% 21,430 33,494 17% 26%
FORD RANGER +122.69% 20,980 9,421 17% 7%
JEEP GLADIATOR +12,305.68% 15,259 123 12% 0%
NISSAN FRONTIER -49.16% 10,280 20,221 8% 16%
GMC CANYON -35.53% 4,483 6,954 4% 5%
TOTAL -1.81% 126,068 128,396

The GMC Canyon saw its share of the midsize pickup truck segment shrink from 5 to 4 percent during the first quarter. By comparison, the Toyota Tacoma enjoyed a 43 percent segment share, the Chevy Colorado and Ford Ranger took 17 percent each, the Jeep Gladiator had 12 percent, and the Nissan Frontier saw a 8 percent share.

The mid-size mainstream pickup truck segment contracted nearly 2 percent to 126,068 units during the first quarter of 2020, meaning that Canyon sales decreased at a significantly faster rate than the segment average.


Below, we provide Honda Ridgeline sales for informational purposes, as the model straddles the midsize and full-size pickup truck segments.

Sales Numbers - Honda Ridgeline - Q1 2020 - USA

MODEL Q1 20 / Q1 19 Q1 20 Q1 19
RIDGELINE +16.87% 8,125 6,952

The GM Authority Take

The decrease in GMC Canyon sales in Q1 was not unexpected. In addition to a drop in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe the following two factors also negatively impacted GMC Canyon sales during the quarter:

  1. The UAW strike, which lasted 40 days and resulted in no units of the pickup truck being built or shipped to dealers, while inventory ran out at the retail level. As a result, customers began to have less choice in dealer inventory, with some dealers experiencing depleted stock of high-volume, models. This circumstance was particularly noteworthy during the final weeks of the fourth quarter of 2019, though we believe that it also carried into the first quarter of 2020.
  2. Increased competition from the Ford Ranger and Jeep Gladiator, as well as strong competition from the existing Toyota Tacoma. When combining Canyon and Colorado sales, GM’s midsize pickup offerings represented 25,913 deliveries for 21 percent market share, which is considerably less than that of the Toyota Tacoma.

Canyon inventories were replenished during the first two months of the 2020 calendar year, but production suspended once again as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. In normalized months, demand for Canyon has outpaced supply, so it will be interesting to see how GMC Canyon sales fare moving forward, especially as the Ford Ranger and Jeep Gladiator continue to establish their presence in the segment.

About The Numbers

  • All percent change figures compared to GMC Canyon sales for Q1 2019, except as noted
  • In the United States, there were 76 selling days in Q1 2020 and 76 selling days in Q1 2019
GM Q1 2020 sales numbers:

2017 GMC Canyon All Terrain X 01

About GMC Canyon

The GMC Canyon is a mid-size pickup truck marketed by GM's GMC brand. It is currently GMC's smallest pickup truck, slotting under the full-size GMC Sierra. The current model was introduced in 2015 and represents the second generation of the Canyon nameplate. It rides on the GMT-31XX platform shared with the Chevy Colorado, as well as the international-market Chevrolet Colorado/S10 and Chevrolet Trailblazer. As of September 2018, the GMC Canyon is offered only in the United States and Canada; it is not offered in the two other markets in which GMC does business - Mexico and the Middle East.

2019 GMC Canyon SLT exterior 003

The 2018 GMC Canyon represents the fourth model year of the second-generation Canyon. The vehicle remains highly competitive in its segment, offering two gasoline engines and a diesel motor, which is a segment exclusive. As opposed to its Chevy-badged brother, the Chevy Colorado, the Canyon does not offer an off-road-specific model like the Colorado ZR2. However, the Canyon does offer a luxury-focused Canyon Denali model. Some of the biggest criticisms of the second-gen Canyon include a lack of various desired features wanted by many present and potential customers, including a moonroof, a sliding rear window, and an extreme offroad model.

2017 GMC Canyon Denali 02

The 2019 GMC Canyon represents the fifth model year of the second-generation Canyon. The vehicle sees new exterior colors and a new set of bright silver 17-inch wheels on the SLE model. Additionally, the 2019 Canyon gets new set of infotainment systems that represent the third generation of GMC infotainment systems, a second in-cabin microphone for the front passenger, a high-definition Rear Vision Camera on some models, UltraSonic Rear Park Assist, a heated steering wheel on SLT and All Terrain models, and 6-way power driver seat on some models. There's also a rearrangement of USB ports in the front and back.

A midcycle refresh for the 2020 model year is expected to bring revised front and rear styling along with interior and powertrain updates. There's also the expected introduction of the Canyon AT4 to replace the Canyon All Terrain. The GMC Canyon is built at the GM Wentzville factory in Missouri operated by GM USA.

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  1. Follow proper PPE, take their temps and keep em working. Quit whining UAW!

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