The Toyota Tacoma continues to dominate the mid-size pickup truck segment. It grew an impressive 31.1% over June of last year. The twin trucks from General Motors are still having a good year, but cannot yet within striking distance of the Tacoma. The aging Nissan Frontier continues to decline under the pressure of new competition.
The mid-size pickup truck segment will continue to see more action in the coming year. The fully redesigned 2016 Toyota Tacoma is just around the corner. TFLtruck will get a chance to drive it for the first time in August. The 2016 Chevy Colorado turbo-diesel is coming with the next 5-6 months. This will be a torque-happy 2.8-liter “baby” Duramax paired to a 6-speed automatic transmission. And the Honda Ridgeline is getting an all-new 2016 model within the next 6-7 months.
Ford and Ram are still out of the smaller pickup truck game. They do not yet see a compelling business case to re-enter this segment.
Mid-size Trucks – June 2015
| June 2015 # | June ’15 / ’14 % | YTD 2015 # | YTD ’15 / ’14 % | |
| Toyota Tacoma | 15,959 | 31.1% | 88,801 | 18.2% |
| Chevy Colorado | 6,558 | NEW | 41,575 | NEW |
| Nissan Frontier | 4,437 | -22.5% | 34,805 | -3.2% |
| GMC Canyon | 2,532 | NEW | 15,017 | NEW |
| Honda Ridgeline | 7 | -99.5% | 503 | -93.6% |
| total | 29,493 | 180,701 |
Check out the 2015 Toyota Tacoma running the Ike Gauntlet extreme towing test.
And here is the 2015 GMC Canyon towing the same load.
Andre Smirnov is a life-long automotive enthusiast, writer, reporter, and software engineer. He has been a contributor at TFL since 2011.
