Chevy Silverado Sales Slip To Third In Segment During Q3 2020

Comments

1. 

   Ahh, but look at the 12+% reduction in Ram sales YTD versus 2019. Now GM models are seeing an increase YTD versus 2019.

   Ultimately these sales figures are all a pissing match for the fanboys. Far more interested in seeing the profitability for GM for Q3.

   Hey Francisco, here’s an idea for an article. Show what the financial impact is to Ford, Fiat and GM for buying credits due to not meeting European emissions requirements for 2019. Maybe GM wasn’t so foolish for selling off Opel.
   Reply
   1. 

      It would also be really interesting to compare how much each of the Big Three is paying for emissions credits here in the U.S., too, helping out Tesla’s bottom line.
      Reply
   2. 

      More promotion money on the hood of GMC LD trucks than Chevrolet, too. More sales for GMC.
      Reply
2. 

   Year-to-date, GM as a whole has out performed both Ford and Ram. Having said this, by the end of the 4th quarter I would assume GM will fall, and Ford will take back the lead. Ford has a new, redesigned F150. GM doesn’t, and still has the interiors everyone loves to complain about.
   Reply
   1. 

      Shouldn’t they? GM is now counting medium duty trucks like the 5500 but Ford and Ram are not. Ford is still being competitive with a 5 year old truck while the Chevy and GMC are new. When you combine GM has more truck dealerships than Ford and Ram combined. Every time I go down a dealership strip I pass a GMC and Chevy dealership compared to one Ford dealership. With all this stacked in GM’S favor you would think that they would be blowing the competition away.
      Reply
      1. 

         Good points! Also GM has been offering year end discounts the whole year. I point this out because when Ram did it last year you could not stop the guys in the Forum from crying about it. Now GM is doing it and they are turning a blind eye to it.
         Reply
      2. 

         Actually, both RAM and Ford do count their medium sales as they are all reported under F-series sales or RAM truck sales. It’s just that GM breaks theirs out as per LD and MD.
         Reply
         1. 

            No, go to the website and download the sales pdf for each respective truck. Ford has a “heavy truck” sales section. They are not even listed as F-series. When you look at the Chevy sales pdf the 5500 is listed as a Silverado MD.
            Reply
            1. 

               If I may offer some clarification.

               First, all Silverado sales, including Silverado Medium Duty, are included on the Silverado line item seen in the report on this page as well as the Silverado line item here:
               https://gmauthority.com/blog/2020/10/gm-sales-figures-numbers-results-united-states-q3-2020/

               Second, the F-Series line item reported here…
               https://fordauthority.com/2020/10/ford-motor-company-sales-numbers-figures-results-third-quarter-2020-q3/
               … includes F-150 as well as the Super Duty line from the F-250 thru the F-600. It really depends on how you slice it, but the F-600 is technically a Medium Duty truck.
               Meanwhile, the F-650 and F-750 are reported on the Heavy Truck line.
               Reply
3. 

   No matter how you look at it, they all have enormous numbers! That’s a LOT of trucks every month. To me the more important numbers are the YTD where the Chevy is above the Ram. Add the GMC with Chevy and it’s not close and GM almost takes over Ford. Either way, I’d take any of the three trucks, but would still prefer the Ram personally.

   Now, can someone explain why the Toyota and Nissan just never gain traction? I could care less and hope it stays that way, but I really am curious if anyone knows why this is.
   Reply
   1. 

      Its the chicken tax.

      I’m not sure how and why the RAM gets away with it and the others don’t but i would bet its in the fine print as why FCA broke RAM away from all of the rest !

      Its a 25% tax on imported trucks

      I think ?

      Thats why we only have three trucks in the USA that compete !

      If the US was free market capitalism and let equality run, our three trucks would be in the same boat as our US sedans, we would have none of those either.

      GREED is the reason the US can not compete !
      Reply
      1. 

         There’s no tariff on trucks made in US, Canada or Mexico under the USMCA deal. Also, Ram was broken away before Fiat took control.
         Reply
      2. 

         Lifelong
         Tundra made in San Antonio Texas
         Titan made in Canton Mississippi
         We don’t levy tariffs on goods made in the U.S.
         Crazy right wing radio logic doesn’t apply.
         Reply
   2. 

      I am saying it is the chicken tax !

      Not today per say, but the chicken tax IS the reason foreign trucks don’t dominate like EVERY OTHER SEGMENT in the USA !

      You see the foreign automakers have already spent their profit on the ” loss leader ” in the USA and were not allowed to do it with trucks !

      VW was selling trucks in the USA at large right up until the chicken tax, and it IS the reason that VW and others like Toyota do not dominate in the trucks !

      This taking over of the US auto market did not happen over night !
      Its just like GM trying to sell a Cadillac again, it will take years of running at margin to build up loyalty after screwing the US Cadillac for 30+ years . And thats with a great product, and they only sell ONE great Cadillac !

      And as far as me admitting GM knows what they are doing,

      I have never said they do not know what they are doing from a business standpoint !

      GM builds inventory and sits boxes of cash on the hoods as a cash flow tool.
      The commenters hare at the onset of the new Silverado were just making excuses like today !

      GM does NOT make more profit per truck, on average, than any other truck maker !
      When RAM was selling cheap and GM was selling high, RAM was creaming Silverado !
      But GM soon was sitting $10,000 to $12,000 on the hoods of their trucks to compete !
      AND REDOING THEM in the shortest GM truck redo in history ( or close )

      And back to the chicken tax, FORD was trying to get it removed so even they could import trucks to the US !

      And I believe if we did not have this clown in office Ford would be importing more to the US and GM would be importing Cadillac from China !

      And still will because unless the US government starts putting cash into the USA where it gets things done instead of to the wealthy old white guy who does nothing with it, there is still not enough people in the USA who can afford to drive the high priced vehicles as the rest of the world !

      When GM finances a vehicle, GM is borrowing the money to loan the customer the money to buy their vehicle, truck.
      When the truck is repossessed GM only made the money the customer paid, and has to resell a repossessed vehicle. We are only 2 years into a 7 year loan, at times, on these trucks !
      And GM knows it !

      GM is betting it all on EV!
      And I think it is a good bet, other than charging stations in the red states !

      And once again, I am NOT right wing !
      Reply
      1. 

         I don’t care what wing you are but from your 20 paragraphs of drivel I believe I know what wing you escaped from!
         Reply
      2. 

         Go drive a Tundra and you’ll immediately understand why it doesn’t gain any traction. It’s crap.

         If you compared a Tocoma to alternatives, you’d realize it also is inferior in many ways. But, the diehard Tocoma buyers don’t realize this cause they won’t ever look beyond a Tacoma.

         You have no clue what you’re talking about with the chicken tax.
         Reply
         1. 

            GMC fan
            Tundra owners are like most truck owners and your very own comment explains it !

            You say, go drive a Tundra , I do not want to, I drive a 2015 Canyon All Terrain, and a 2020 Denali HD !

            But your statement is true to most truck owners, that is why it is NOT good to lose ANY truck owners to Toyota or RAM or Ford, chances are they will never come back, or for sure not for a few years.

            And I will stick with my chicken tax reasoning, If VW and Toyota were allowed to steal the market of the truck like every other segment, WHEN THEY DID, you would see a LOT of VW and Toyota large trucks !!
            Every year since 1960 something they would have improved them as the customer wanted, JUST LIKE THE OTHER SEGMENTS !

            Look, the ONLY reason GM loses loyalty is GREED and the lack of focus on the customers wants !
            ” O ” don’t forget the HORRIBLE GM customer support.

            Toyota has dominated at the customer support thing for years, and THAT is the ONLY reason the Tacoma is first !

            And VW has dominated for years do to their focus on the customer !

            Look where Audi was 30 years ago !
            Look at the Toyota trucks 30 years ago !

            All the GM kool-aid drinkers can make up all the excuses they want, but the FACT is GM has been slipping for YEARS !
            Where was DODGE RAM years ago ? They were a JOKE !
            Jeep and RAM have been gobbling up market steady now for years, and KEEPING MOST of it !
            This is trouble that needs to be dealt with on the product offering and NOT EXCUSES !!
            But GM knows this already, they are redoing these trucks as we type !

            Look at that Hummer !!
            If that very vehicle was ICE and was available in 2019 with these trucks sales would be through the roof !

            If GM would have put an $80,000.00 interior in an $80,000.00 truck, sales would be through the roof !

            NOPE we get a Hummer EV two year from now.
            GM is bragging an 18 month development time, WHAT, this is two years away !
            So GM one of the largest automakers in the world, is bragging, they can make a one off vehicle in 18 months.
            Any one of the custom shops in the world, with the money GM spent on this one off, could have made a one off Hummer !

            GM NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING !!!!
            Besides being so da/\/\ CHEAP !!
            Reply
      3. 

         Lifelong
         C’mon now, the American companies invest billions in their trucks. You need a better argument than “Once apon a time VW built a truck”
         Reply
4. 

   GM would be higher but they just don’t have the inventory. Couple dealers near me normally has a lot full of trucks. All they have is the first row and the rest are SUV/Cuv’s . Seems GM can’t build them fast enough.
   Reply
   1. 

      You are 100% right. Demand is high for the GM trucks, but ever since the strike last year, dealers have been struggling with getting inventory. All of the automakers suffered from the Chinese flu shut down, but for GM the shut down came while they were still trying to get caught up from the strike, putting them at a disadvantage, compared to Ford and FCA.

      A close friend of mine is a dealer who has a Chevy store, two Buick/GMC stores and a commercial Chevrolet/Isuzu truck store. He was telling me on Friday that they’ve been having trouble getting truck inventory all year, and they’re loosing sales because they don’t have the inventory, and can’t get it. They usually have 100-150 pick ups in stock, but only have about 30, and the situation was even worse at the GMC stores. He said the commercial store usually has 30 Silverado WT’s in stock, but right now they only have 2. He was also telling me that while Chevy customers were still buying double cabs, at the GMC stores the only thing buyers want are short box crew cabs.
      Reply
5. 

   The Chevrolet Silverado needs a new face lift, the one that gave it and now using on Suburbans and Tahoe’s just don’t cut it
   Reply
6. 

   Styling of the 2020 Chevrolet Silverado is boring as there are no changes as every year’s version looks like every other year; maybe the designers of the C8 Corvette should be transferred to the Silverado design team.
   Reply
7. 

   The lines on the truck are not attractive.Gmc is better, butA& Pillar transaction on us pitiful. As much as I try to lykeit,the truck is a distant third to Ram and Ford. Unacceptable;
   Reply
8. 

   Also, my local dealership has a ton of these trucks, their inventory looks fine to me .
   Reply
9. 

   There is no inventory here at the Chevy nor the GMC dealer. Like mentioned, they never recovered from the Strike earlier in the year, then Covid shutdowns. We are an Ag based area, and come Fall farmers and contractors spend a lot of money on new trucks. There isn’t much to buy this year. The trucks are sold before they are unloaded from the transport. Plenty of want for the pickups, just no pickups to sell.
   Reply
10. 

    Can we stop with the excuses and just admit that this Chevrolet was not a handsome truck. Style wins customers and quality keeps them, this version of the Silverado just didn’t cut it.
    GM can build the best vehicle in the world, I believe that, and Chevy fans want the Silverado to be that vehicle. GM just has to get in tune with what their customer wants and back off the electric robot dream that Mary has a bit.
    Give us a good looking, great value truck again.
    Reply
    1. 

       Chevy Guy
       Sierra & Silverado sales are up. GM’s Truck factories are running on “Maximum Overtime” and the trucks are still in short supply. Also I see very few GM trucks sitting on used car lots.
       Why don’t you just admit that GM knows what it’s doing.
       Reply
11. 

    Perhaps if GM respected the loyal customer by providing customer service and support for the purchase of these over-priced trucks, they might still be #1. Bought a new 2020 2500 HD and 6200 miles later, it is in service with no ETA. Been there for 2 weeks so far! Response from GM? Sorry!
    Reply
12. 

    I have a 2014 Silverado and was about to upgrade till i saw the interior. It looks pretty much the same! Sad that Chevy/GMC didn’t change the interior when they did the exterior update. i will be waiting for the 2022 when the interior is changed. Sales will be down till the 2022 comes out.!
    Reply
13. 

    Ford f series is a marketing ploy – all ford trucks are f- series ! When it comes to sales fords advantage is municipalities and the bidding process – most gov agencies due this ! Ford lowballs all the time but get there $ back and then some ! Gm trucks will outsell ford and gm has the large suv market ! The uaw then the pandemic hurt sells the most
    Reply
14. 

    It seems like Covid-19 is the ‘fashionable’ excuse to blame things on….. as referenced in this article as a partial reason/explanation for the slip in Silverado sales. However if that were true, wouldn’t Covid-19 detrimentally affect ALL manufactures across ALL lines? A consistent down turn in sales across the board?
    Could it be more of a lack of units for sale due to the strike, or customers holding off for new model improvements, or maybe Ford and Ram trucks have hit on what is more appealing to current customers?
    Reply
15. 

    As a long time Chevy Truck owner, it seems to me that the American Light Duty Truck market is being flooded with some great products, and it is up to GM to learn why Ford and Dodge are ahead in sales, especially here in good old SoCal. As a retired GM employee and working in the assembly/engineering division I’ve been a part of many “Test Drives” with competing products and after filing my report as to where we (GM) needed to upgrade or improve that particular product, I wasn’t always encouraged by my “uplines” who knew what I was reporting was true but…they couldn’t make it happen without first going through a myriad of committees that have already been assigned to “push the product as is” and not spend any more money or go through the arduous task of contacting a particular supplier and changing what had already been agreed to…sometimes it got pretty heated and usually things were “left as they were” but once in while, we’d get that improvement that was suggested. What has that got to do with Dodge surpassing Chevy in truck sales?
    Quite simply…everything! I’ve talked to both neighbors and friends who’ve purchased a Dodge Ram over a Chevy Silverado and believe me their choice for choosing the Ram was well founded. Quick point….here in SoCal. you very seldom see a duplicate Ram or Ford truck…they’ve got so many variations and options galore that physically change the appearance of their products…different tailgates, different outside trim pieces, multiple body paint colors that are striking, imaginative, a multitude of different wheels and tires, a lot more chrome trim, and of course their interiors are superior to the Chevy product in many ways…it’s a fact and everyone knows it!
    The newest iteration of the Chevy Silverado isn’t even close to its own “kin”, the GMC Sierra when it comes to its outside “modern and upscale trim levels”…the Silverado just plain doesn’t have “The Look” that the public finds appealing, in the past looks has kept them close to the Ford F-150 and the Dodge Ram and that’s the first thing you notice about any vehicle…how it’s looks, how it projects itself to the chosen group that it is catering itself to…and the Ram and F-150 simply are a more exciting to look at, a more desirable product in the Light Duty Truck field and sales numbers prove that out!
    To make matters worse, GM spent a lot of money making the latest re-do of the Silverado and Sierra, and so what wins Motor Trends Truck of the Year Award…not the GM products, but an older and updated version of the Dodge Ram!
    What an embarrassment for GM…but they’ve got no one to blame but themselves, they’ve driven the Ram, the F-150 and compared it to their products and those “GM Marketing Mavens” knew that they’ve got some concerns that have to be addressed, but chose not to “change what needed to be changed”….talk about an arrogant attitude, it cost them plenty especially when it comes to “Bragging Rights”. Sorry guys…let’s make a real effort to change the things that needed to be changed, and stop with the “gingerbread” changes too, a lot of pathetic incremental changes like a different exterior color or an ad campaign signaling “big discounts” isn’t working and adding something as totally worthless as a “4 cylinder turbocharged engine” to the series is more money thrown at attempting to “one up” the competition isn’t working either!
    If Dodge and Ford can bring out and keep bringing out new and upscale models of their products that’ll draw the truck buyers to the dealers lots and…then sell ’em in good sized numbers, there is no reason that GM can’t do the same, so stop being arrogant, take a closer look at the competition and for gosh sakes…just do it, make the changes that’ll make the road test editors and truck buying public want something new for a change, instead of the same old crap lack luster interiors, or substandard ride quality and most of all…let’s get rid of that gawd awful front end and tailgate rear end styling, cheap ass
    looks, especially on the 3/4 ton HD’s! Compared to the previous body style (a winner in sales too) the latest Silverado just plain is a disappointment…I hate to say that but it’s the truth, Dodge and Ford have it going on, while the Chevy folks are confused as to what to do next to get their sales up. Here is a hint: LISTEN TO WHAT THE PUBLIC DEMANDS YOU BUILD AND STOP LISTENING TO A GROUP OF MARKETING MAVENS WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THEY’RE DOING! ‘Nuff said.
    In the meantime, I’ll stick to my reliable, and amazing 1999 Chevy Silverado Z-71 Extra Cab….it has withstood the test of time, proven to be “solid as a rock” and I still get almost daily offers from folks who’d love to buy it stipulating things like “they don’t make ’em like they used to” (style wise), and I have to agree, it’s time Chevy regroups, they need a Home Run if they’re going to stay in the game…they’ve got the money, they’ve got the manpower…they just need the guts to “Do It”!
    Reply
    1. 

       Rick LaGrasta, It’s great to get a true response from someone who’s been on the inside.

       So what is with nearly every GM trim line it’s black only interiors? With the CV8 Corvette it has a selection of interior colors not seen since the 60’s-70’s. I’ve lived in Florida now for 30 years and only had one car that was black exterior and interior and my son bought a black vehicle at one time. He said the same as my wife and I, never again. Just too damn hot.

       I totally agree on your comment on the Marketing Maven’s. On my comment about dark colors interiors, a typical response from marketing types would be “it our best selling color”. Sure if 90% of the vehicles are shipped that way. I would like to buy a Colorado to have a smaller truck than my 2012 Silverado. It only has black interiors. Ford Ranger is the same, Tacoma has other interior colors and who is leading that segment? Tacoma! So what would I buy? I’m waiting for the next design change on the Colorado if I live that long.
       Reply
       1. 

          Another reason the Tacoma sells and sells and sells: reliability. I am not a fan of Toyota at all. Most of their line is ugly; the front ends are overwroght with fake fents, insets, and other gewgaws. They are mostly boring to drive compared to their competition in a given segment.

          That being said, the Tacoma has established a very high level of reliability, and for people who use their trucks AS trucks, when getting to the jobsite puts food on the table, that means a lot.
          Reply
    2. 

       That sound like something I would have said Rick !

       Well said !
       Reply
16. 

    Stop making excuses for Chevy trucks. They used to outsell Dodge 3-4 to 1. They have frittered away this lead with unattractive trucks both outside and inside, including the current iteration. From interior to exterior and coil spring ride RAM has put it on Chevy. Just ask former Chevy customers why they bought a RAM.
    I hope GMs commitment to electric vehicles pays off. The jury is still out.
    Reply
17. 

    The bottom line is that the Ford and Ram offerings are much better looking trucks. I’ve been a GM guy since before I started driving over 40 years ago and this generation of trucks is just so unappealing I have seriously started looking at Fords and Rams, their interiors are so much better looking and less cheap feeling. The higher end pickups should have the Tahoe/Yukon interiors. For over $70,000 for a pickup they should be equipped as a luxury vehicle.
    Reply
18. 

    Went lot crawling this weekend and the Chevy dealer by me did not have one truck…….
    Reply
19. 

    Now they have taken that hideous front end and put it on the Tahoe and Suburban! Bad idea!
    Reply
20. 

    Very well said Rick!
    Reply