General Motors Co. GM 0.06% in 2020 dethroned rival Ford Motor Co. F 1.50% in Detroit’s closely watched “truck wars,” securing the top slot in the lucrative market for large pickup trucks.
For the first time since 2015, GM outsold Ford in large pickup trucks, a category that generates the bulk of global profits for each auto maker.
I doubt the Bronco launch will go well in 2021. The rabbit won’t be out of the hat in 2021
I have always thought that myself Chrysler somehow pulls a rabit out of their hat. Though they didn't build enough PT Cruisers when there was excitement of the vehicle. Or they created the minivan, only years later to create the two sliding door minivan.
Though I think that Ford is pulling the Rabbits right now. The Mustang Mach E, low price point is an excellent entrance into the EV world.
The Bronco and Bronco Sport will be the real rabbit that saves them in 2021.
Back in 2012 I remember a fellow ford employee saying Chrysler/FCA always managed to pull a rabbit out of their hat to save them, well ....., it seems the chickens have come home to roost. Ford is still caught up in thinking they are the company of the 60’s. We will see who pulls the most rabbits out of their hat. In reality Hank the duce fired Iacocca which inspired lee to drive Chrysler to the success it enjoys today.
@4bzn+18Nj8Uio "GM has a problem"
So Ford is in good shape because GM has a problem? The same problem riddled GM that dethroned Ford in the pickup truck market?
Ford HAS a problem, besides all the "leadership" changes, all the layoffs and the "reinventing ourselves" strategy. Just look at the lots of F150 waiting for rework before going out to the dealerships. Just look at the warranty costs of Ford, way higher than GM. So if GM has "a problem", how many do we have at Ford?
Being "dethroned" for just a quarter is not cause of panicking, but it is of concern when you look at the big picture. The other automakers are not happy with being second place and are pushing hard to be number one. If Ford keeps having quality issues, or fails the launch, it might be enough to loose the supremacy in this category, which is the only one where Ford remains king.
Toss in that the car industry is cyclical, and we may face the downturn curve any moment, and Ford's profits, compared with other car manufacturers, were too low in the past couple of years, right now are still low, and loosing the truck wars will make them even lower, and what do you get? Not good.
This is the time when we need an "Alan Mulally" because we are going through rough times again.
Thanks
They didn’t scramble to rebuild the Ranger. That Ranger truck was already in Asia. Like the Isuzu D-Max was converted to the Chevy Colorado. The vehicle is suited to compete against the Toyota Hilux.
This company has made screw ups. I wish the North American Ranger was more like the Tacoma, and the Maverick might s—.
What they didn’t screw up was Bronco, and the Bronco sport brings back the boxie SUV. They marketed the Mustang Mach E correctly.
2021 and 2022 are going to be good years for Ford.
You wanna talk screw ups, how about the Iconic Blazer and Trail Blazer nameplates wasted on mediocre vehicles.
How about GM whose main markets are in areas of the US least interested in EVs. They pulled out of the Europe, the biggest EV market, even though they are banking on EVs. GM has such a branding problem, that they have changed their iconic logo. GM has the Supercruise going for them, according the Consumer Reports is much better than Tesla, but because their marketing is so poor, not many people know about it. And have you seen the piss poor MPGs on the NEW Chevy Silverado. GM has a problem.
@3tec+18Nj8Uio Don’t think Ford is building what the customers want. Huge market now for used sedans particular not-Big-Three sedans. Ford tends to do a lot of group think and self promotion.
They miss the boat on market trends more times than not.
“No one wants a compact truck, so we shall discontinue the Ranger”. Oops we just ceded the small truck market to Toyota and Nissan, now we scramble to reintroduce the Ranger and face stiff competition and no longer have loyal customers.
“No one wants a minivan, so we discontinue the Windstar”. Oops we ceded the minivan market to Toyota and Honda, then we scramble to reclaim some customers with the transit.
“No one wants a sedan, so we discontinue sedans. “ Oops we ceded the sedan market to Toyota, Honda, Hyundai. We still think we can convince our customers that they do not want a sedan.
Anyone see a pattern here? We pack our Full sized trucks with expensive options that most people do not want or need. As a result the truck prices are so steep that average Joe’s cannot afford them - so we lease them or give them 10 year loans. How long is this business model sustainable?
Keep drinking the Kool-Aid Jim. How’s the new launch going? Hmmm.
F150 is releasing its new generation of pickups now. So Q4 was looking to be dismal, as many were waiting for the new generation of truck to purchase. Just as Ford warned of this in Q3 Quarterly report to investors.
The last time this happened was 2015 for 1 quarter. Ring a bell.
This is a dishonest post. Ford is well primed for a good 2021 and 2022. The Mustang Mach E, Bronco Sport, Bronco & all new F150. Besides their Ecosport and aging Edge, they have a solid product line offering.
GM passing Ford in truck sales was “unthinkable and having Ram in the picture was “unimaginable.” With the numerous F-150 launch issues (more to come) and weak platform portfolio by Ford we are now in “unsustainable” mode. Posts remind me of the little Dutch boy plugging holes in the dike who just ran out of fingers. “Unfortunate.”
Yes indeed it is time for concern.
We took a 3 month cross country trip in our RV this summer as we can work remotely. We noticed that once we got out of michigan area the Ram truck was the majority of trucks we saw. We made a game out of it and started a spreadsheet keeping track of trucks on the road and parking lots. Ram was the winner by a large margin in the newer full sized trucks, followed by GM. In the smaller trucks Toyota was the winner. The more rural the area the more Ram trucks.
Our guess is that F150 sales are propped up by city dwellers who just like to drive trucks but don’t actually need a truck. That is a precarious situation to be in.
@wah+18Nj8Uio The sky isn't falling but this is definitely cause for concern. The F-150 has owned the full size pickup market for decades and is now responsible for the vast majority of company profits. Competition from GM and FCA is fierce and there are signs that the new F-150 launch isn't going nearly as well as planned.
Ford is a one trick pony, and will never earn enough income from selling the data they might get from an F-150 to support the bloated salaried management ranks.
If this is true.. Ford needs to counter like "RIGHT NOW" Otherwise it will only be a matter of time before the doors shut for good. This is what happens when 90%+ of your profits come from one platform!
OMG - GM pickup sales beat Ford pickup sales by .06 percent, in a year with a worldwide health crisis, which very much included the US and Canada. The horror!!
One question - what was the average incentive amount on the hood of the GM trucks for the entire year vs. Ford? Put simply, who had the greater profit percent?? Asking for a friend named Bill...