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Demand for Luxury Pickups Bolsters GMC; DiSalle Does Not Foresee Slowdown

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The 2016 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali was named Truck Trend's Truck of the Year

Photo: © General Motors

Crossovers are all the rage in 2016, but their increasing popularity has seemingly done little to diminish the draw of pickup trucks. In particular, pickups with high-end amenities and features have been big moneymakers, making it imperative for automakers to have ample options in both segments with plenty of options for upselling.

US Vice President of Marketing for GMC Tony DiSalle told WardsAuto that demand for trucks like the Sierra Denali and incoming 2017 Canyon Denali has only gone up, and that he and General Motors “have no idea how high” that demand will continue to climb.

Per WardsAuto, body-on-frame trucks owned 22.6% of the market by the end of April, with pickups claiming 15.1% and SUVs covering 7.6%. If demand continues to climb over the next several years, it could rival the peaks of 2002 and 2005. In December 2002, truck sales were a record 40.2% of the market with 20.8% SUVs and 19.4% pickups. More recently, July 2005 had trucks at 39.3% with pickups covering 22.9% and SUVs covering 16.4%.

“Demand is strong,” DiSalle said of GMC’s pickup and SUV sales. “We’ve seen no falloff.” He credits, among other things, the continued refinement of its trucks and SUVs as major draws for new and returning customers.

As for crossovers, which control an impressive 30.3% of the market at present, GMC hopes that the slimmed-down 2017 Acadia will help bolster sales of both the Terrain and the previous-gen Acadia, which will be sticking around alongside the new model.

“For the loyalists,” DiSalle said.

By continuing to listen to its customers and then go out of its way to appeal to them, GMC’s sales success will likely continue well into the next decade.

News Source: WardsAuto