Ford Ranger sales off to a slow start
Although its F-150 is the bestselling vehicle in Canada, Ford isn’t having quite as much luck with the mid-size Ranger.
New in Canada for 2019, the Ranger sold 755 copies in the first three months of 2019, beating only the SUV-based Honda Ridgeline in sales, and by only 23 trucks at that.
All-new models usually do well in their first year, and with the nameplate’s history and its previous popularity, it was expected the Ranger would clean up on its introduction. Instead, the Toyota Tacoma rang up the highest sales numbers in the first quarter of 2019, with 2,640 copies sold. The Chevrolet Colorado was second at 1,788, while its GMC Canyon mechanical twin racked up 1,288 sales. Even the Frontier, the oldest design on the market, outdid the Ranger, with 959 sold.
While Ranger sales are also slow in the U.S., it’s doing slightly better there. According to Car and Driver, Ford sold 15,169 units in the first three months, outselling the GMC Canyon at 9,374 copies, and the Ridgeline at 9,606 units. But it couldn’t touch the Tacoma at 78,558, or the Colorado at 45,149 units. The Frontier also outsold the Ranger, with 24,479 copies.
In Canada, Ranger sales were 201 units in January, dropping to 173 in February and staying flat in March. However, sales climbed to 381 units in April, which could indicate that either supply or customer demand or both are picking up, although Ranger’s April sales still trailed all but the Ridgeline.