“GM entered the quarter with very lean inventories and our dealers did a great job meeting customer demand, especially for pickups,” Kurt McNeil, General Motors’ U.S. vice president of sales operations, said in a statement. “Now, we are refilling the pipeline by quickly and safely returning production to pre-pandemic levels.”
GMC Sierra sales dipped 5 percent in the second quarter, and Chevy Silverado volume fell 14 percent. Both nameplates were among the few to post increases for the first half of the year.
Sales dropped 23 percent in the second quarter for the Ford F-Series and 35 percent for the Ram pickup line. Sales of midsize pickups — such as the Toyota Tacoma, Ford Ranger and Jeep Gladiator — slid 16 percent. Pickups represented 25 percent of nonluxury brand sales, up from 21 percent a year earlier.
Other segments that fared better than average include subcompact crossovers, down 8.3 percent, and large premium crossovers, down 8 percent. Meanwhile, sales of subcompact cars and minivans fell by more than half.
Ford Motor Co. posted second-quarter sales increases for just two vehicles in its lineup: the Explorer, up 12 percent, and the Ranger, up 20 percent. Large utilities and pickups are performing better because people need them for work, and affluent consumers who often buy such vehicles have been less affected by the pandemic, said Mark LaNeve, Ford’s vice president of U.S. marketing, sales and service.
“The unemployment issue, unfortunately, has hit the service industry hard — younger people,” he told Automotive News. “The fact that pickups are needed for work and vehicles like Expedition and Explorer are doing better doesn’t surprise us.”
Michael Martinez and Nick Bunkley contributed to this report.
