July 2020 Sales Report: In The Wake Of COVID-19, Trucks Helped Automakers Weather The Storm (UPDATED)

Truck sales fared far better than cars and SUVs

The GMC Sierra HD’s sales actually increased over the past three months — one of the few models to actually gain momentum during the ongoing pandemic. [Photo: GMC]

Over the past three months, coronavirus and its related stay-at-home orders, dealer shutdowns and gigantic economic impact was always going to affect new truck sales. Since most major automakers, including the Big Three, now report quarterly, July 1 is the first opportunity we have to see how manufacturers fared.

Most car and SUV models across the industry fell by double digits, and in some cases more than 50 percent, over the same three-month period in 2019. Truck sales have been red hot these past couple years, though, and the numbers that are rolling in suggest they helped stem the flow here in the U.S. Half-ton sales, in particular, weren’t nearly as badly hit as passenger cars or even SUVs. As sales pick up from where they bottomed out during April’s wave of dealer closures and shelter-in-place orders, we’ll see just how well truck sales can recover between now and October 1.

Note: Sales figures are still rolling in as of July 1, so we will come back and update this post over the next 24 hours. If a model is marked “TBA”, its sales numbers should be available in the next few hours, so check back frequently!

Jeep Gladiator sales picked up substantially over the past year, though slowing sales likely took a bite out of its potential over the past few months. [Photo: Jeep]

Midsize truck sales: Q2 2020

ModelQ2 2020Q2 2019Change (%)
Chevrolet Colorado19,84331,669-37%
Ford Ranger25,00820,880+20%
GMC Canyon5,22511,909-56%
Honda Ridgeline6,3808,303-23%
Jeep Gladiator19,5687,129+174%
Nissan Frontier8,79419,101-54%

2020 chevy silverado hd 4500 5500 6500
Chevy’s medium-duty trucks also picked up slightly from this point last year. [Photo: Chevrolet]

Full-size truck sales: Q2 2020

ModelQ2 2020Q2 2019Change (%)
Chevrolet Silverado*122,432142,464-14%
-> Silverado 150089,465109,930-19%
-> Silverado HD31,27931,496-1%
-> Silverado MD (4500-6500)1,6881,038+63%
Ford F-Series180,825233,787-23%
GM Trucks (COMBINED)176,256199,321-12%
GMC Sierra*53,82456,857-5%
-> Sierra 150038,82542,911-10%
-> Sierra HD14,99913,946+8%
Nissan Titan6,4648,343-23%
Ram Trucks117,448179,454-35%
Toyota TundraTBA

With new models coming and the coronavirus impacting sales, the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban were both hit hard this past quarter. [Photo: Chevrolet]

Full-size SUV Sales: Q2 2020

ModelQ2 2020Q2 2019Change (%)
Cadillac Escalade4,9359,432-48%
Chevrolet Tahoe16,01632,942-51%
Chevrolet Suburban7,01618,266-62%
Dodge Durango11,69419,972-41%
Ford Expedition12,55521,796-42%
Infiniti QX803,6384,822-25%
Lincoln Navigator2,7494,387-37%
Nissan Armada5,1278,912-43%
Toyota SequoiaTBA
Toyota Land CruiserTBA