GMC Sierra and Chevy Silverado Only Trucks to Gain Market Share in 2020
The GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado truck twins were the only full-size pickups to gain market share in the United States in 2020, says General Motors vice president Steve Hill.
GM managed to sell just over a quarter of a million Sierra pickups last year, and nearly 600,000 units of the Silverado, which is based on the same truck platform.
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Out of all the full-size trucks sold in the United States, they were the only two to enjoy higher sales figures in 2020 than in 2019 as other trucks floundered during the COVID-19 pandemic.
GMC Sierra sales were up 8.91 percent, increasing the truck’s market share from nine to 11 percent. Meanwhile, Silverado sales were up 3.21 percent, increasing its own market share by the same amount, up to 25 percent.
Three out of their four competitors — the Ford F-Series, Nissan Titan, and Ram pickups —suffered substantial sales slumps, while the fourth — the Toyota Tundra — was down a small amount at 2.21 percent.
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With these changes, GM overtook Ford as the most dominant manufacturer in the trucking industry. While the Ford sold 787,422 F-Series trucks in 2020, the Sierra and Silverado combined to beat it at 847,110 units, taking 36 percent of the market share.
All truck manufacturers were in the same boat in spring 2020, when production lines were forced to shut down for two months. It’s hard to know what would have happened without these limitations. Undoubtedly, both GM and Ford would have sold even more trucks, but would the latter have been able to catch up?
Ford introduced the 14th-generation F-Series in 2020. Did sales fall purely because of the pandemic or because the automaker’s latest truck didn’t live up to expectations? Whatever the reasons, there’s a new top dog to beat.
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