Automakers see big buyer response to luxury pickups
When it comes to status symbols, the dressed-up luxury pickup truck is fighting its way back to the top in the automotive world.
Driven by cheap fuel, a surging economy and a rising stock market, more buyers are willing to pay as much for a richly appointed truck as they would a fancy Mercedes-Benz or Lexus sedan.
The latest evidence of the luxetruck phenomenon comes from Ford, which says that 71% of buyers in November opted for the higher grades of its new Super Duty heavy-duty pickup. Those trucks range from the F-250 Lariat with a starting price of $45,105 up to the F-250 King Ranch at $54,260 — and prices can go a lot higher when options are added.
Ford had forecast the mix would be about 50-50 when the new Super Duty was launched, says Doug Scott, Ford’s Truck Group marketing manager. As a result, he adds that executives are “pleasantly surprised” at the results.
General Motors, with deluxe pickups in its Chevrolet and GMC division, and Fiat Chrysler, with its Ram pickups, say they’ve also seen strong buyer response to their highest-end pickups.
America’s love affair with pickups is still largely a domestic phenomenon, with Detroit’s Big 3 holding big sales leads. The Ford F- Series pickup was the most popular new vehicle of any kind sold in the first 11 months of the year, as it always has been in the past. The Chevrolet Silverado follows in second and Fiat Chrysler Ram 1500 is third. It isn’t until fourth place that a car shows up, the Toyota Camry, according to Autodata.
The high-end pickup trend is significant because both light and heavy-duty trucks are among the most profitable vehicles on a dealer’s lot. They are generally less complex to make than cars, which adds to their profitability. And sales of them have done well all year.
Large pickup sales were up 9.3% in November even as overall industry sales were up 3.7%, Autodata reports. So far this year, large pickup sales have risen 3% compared to last year against overall industry sales that have been flat.
But what’s more significant is the action at the high end, where the profits and prestige are the biggest.
“Luxury half-tons will continue to sell well and make huge profits,” predicts Mark Williams, editor of PickupTrucks.com. He says the segment is “definitely getting hotter,” driven by safety and technology improvements.
High-priced trucks were popular early in the past decade when pickups increasingly became used as family vehicles, not just weekend haulers. But then came the gas-price crunch and recession. Both took the sheen off truck sales. Families returned to cars, leaving many pickups to more practical uses as work trucks or strictly for hauling.
Now the equation has shifted again, with trucks being given softer, more car-like rides and equipped with many of the features found on luxury cars. They include real leather and wood in the cabs, safety systems like lanedeparture warnings and fancy high-tech touches that, in the case of Ford, include a rear-view camera system that lets drivers back their trucks right up to their trailer hitches.