Pickup Truck Sales Surge in October for the Segment’s Best 2017 Sales Month
F-Series sales climbed 15.9%, with strong outings by the rest of the truck segment as well
Pickup truck sales started to, well, “pick up” in October
Over the course of 2017, a lot has been said about the growing sales success of crossovers and SUVs. But there is another segment of vehicles that is doing incredibly well this year: pickup trucks. In fact, October was the best sales month for trucks so far this year.
The Ford F-Series currently retains its title of the best-selling vehicle in the country. It would seem that won’t be changing anytime soon, as F-Series sales were up by 15.9% in October. Year-to-date, Ford has sold 734,610 F-Series vehicles. This accounts for an 11.1% sales increase for the model compared to its sales performance in the first 10 months of 2016.
The F-Series still reigns supreme in terms of sales
The F-Series’ main rival, the Chevy Silverado, also did very well last month. Silverado sales were up by 6.8%, with a total of 53,157 units sold in October. Rounding out the triumvirate of major pickup trucks was the Ram model lineup. Ram sold 44,201 pickups last month, a slight 1% increase over its Octobers sales in 2016.
While Ram’s sales didn’t grow all that much, they were already in a good place to begin with
One reason why demand for trucks is up is due to growth in the construction industry. Employment in construction reportedly climbed to its highest amount in more than a decade. Of course, plenty of trucks needed to be replaced following the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. This caused a major automotive sales increase in September, which probably carried over into early October.
One of the most likely reasons for a surge in truck sales is that old truck models are on the way out while 2018 models take their place. The result is a wide array of incentives for customers to take advantage of. “It’s a huge month for pickups, but they are clearing out the 2017 models,” explained Jeff Schuster, an analyst for LMC Automotive. “Incentives probably were higher. I don’t think this is the economy pulling autos up.” Whatever the reason behind the surge in truck purposes may be, automakers are likely not complaining with the increase in pickup profits.
News Source: Bloomberg
The News Wheel is a digital auto magazine providing readers with a fresh perspective on the latest car news. We’re located in the heart of America (Dayton, Ohio) and our goal is to deliver an entertaining and informative perspective on what’s trending in the automotive world. See more articles from The News Wheel.