Now that we’re officially past April Fool’s Day, we can take a more serious look at how the full-size truck fight is shaping up for 2024. The first quarterly sales reports are officially in from the Big Three, Toyota and Nissan, and there are some interesting trends worth reflecting on as we roll on into the year.
As ever, Ford’s F-Series trucks are still on top as far as the best-selling single nameplate in the U.S. That said, the automaker just began rolling out its revamped 2024 F-150 last month, so that switchover means sales did drop off by roughly 10 percent from where they were at this point last year. The company did mention, however, that Super Duty sales were up 23% from a year ago (again, as the truck underwent an update for the 2023 model year).
We could be in the middle of a similar situation for Ram Trucks. Like Ford, the brand combines its half-ton and HD truck sales, but that aggregate figure is still down by 15%, making it the biggest slide of the year so far. It’s important to note, though, that the updated 2025 Ram 1500 gas trucks are just around the corner, while we also expect to see refreshed heavy duty models emerge sometime in the next several months, as the current generation rolled out for the 2019 model year.
As for GM, both Chevrolet and GMC have updated half-ton and HD trucks within the past couple model years. The General hasn’t seen major movement among its volume sellers, though a 2-percent uptick demonstrates staying power with buyers that suggests a strong year for the brand against its Detroit rivals. After some serious growing pains getting the Hummer EV out the door — GMC sold just two trucks in the first quarter of 2023 — volume dramatically picked up in the first three months of 2024.
The biggest mover and shaker among the full-size segment is the Toyota Tundra. After its comprehensive redesign for the 2022 model year, San Antonio’s finest at Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Texas are cranking out even more trucks to keep up with demand. So far this year, the automaker moved 36,215 Tundras, which is a notable 31% improvement on this point last year. Before its revamp, Toyota consistently sold around 10,000 Tundra trucks each month, so while 12,000-15,000 still doesn’t put it in striking distance of the F-150, it’s still a considerable improvement in its own right.
U.S. Full-size/HD Pickup Truck Sales: Q1 2024
| Model | Q1 2024 | Q1 2023 | Change (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| GM Trucks (COMBINED)* | 195,099 | 191,192 | 2.0% |
| Ford F-Series | 152,953 | 170,377 | -10.3% |
| Chevrolet Silverado | 126,502 | 123,994 | 2.0% |
| Ram Trucks | 89,417 | 105,350 | -15% |
| GMC Sierra | 68,597 | 67,198 | 2.1% |
| Toyota Tundra | 36,215 | 27,651 | 31.0% |
| –> F-150 Lightning** | 7,743 | 4,291 | 80.4% |
| Nissan Titan | 4,145 | 4,038 | 2.6% |
| Hummer EV (Truck/SUV) | 1,668 | 2 | 83,300% |
| –> Silverado EV*** | 1,061 | New | New |
| Tesla Cybertruck | Not available | New | New |
| TOTAL: | 683,400 | 694,003 | -1.6% |
Currently, the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickup is ahead in the EV truck game. At this time, we are tracking F-150 Lightning, Hummer EV, Silverado EV, and Cybertruck sales as part of the full-size market. The Rivian R1T is being tracked separately as part of the midsize pickup truck segment. Rivian has yet to report its Q1 2024 sales, anyway, so we will have that update with our midsize report when it’s available.
