Although the Ford F-150 continues to dominate the full-size pickup truck market in the US, Chevy and Ram have been in a nearly year-long battle for the No. 2 sales spot. For years, the Chevy Silverado 1500 came in second behind the F-150 in sales, followed by the Ram 1500. But that changed last year due to the latest generation Ram 1500 simply being a more refined and luxurious truck than its Chevy competitor, and buyers responded. But there was also another factor that has paid off big time: the Ram 1500 Classic. Ram wisely decided to keep the previous generation 1500 in production as a less expensive alternative. Once again, buyers responded, only this time these were younger buyers.
Automotive News reports that not only did the Ram 1500 outsell the Silverado 1500 in 2019 by over 10 percent, but Ram is winning over more buyers from both GM and Ford in the vital 35-and-under age demographic.
Data collected by ISH Market shows there were 43,282 new Ram truck registrations last year for buyers under 35. Ford came in second with 40,968, followed by Chevy with 39,181 registrations. Ram's success is directly attributed to selling the less expensive Ram 1500 Classic (as well as the previous-gen Heavy Duty model). Not only are both trucks cheaper than the redesigned 2020 Ram 1500 and Ram Heavy Duty, but the automaker offered additional discounts on both to further sweeten sales.
As a result, younger buyers with smaller budgets were still able to buy a fully modern and extremely capable full-size or HD pickup truck for less money than what the competition was offering.
Not surprisingly, GM has previously been critical of Ram's sales methods, but at the end of the day, Ram is bringing in serious bank and gaining customer satisfaction and long-term brand loyalty. As a result of Ram's tactics, Chevy and GMC have been offering more frequent and attractive incentives in recent months but we won't know whether this plan is working until later in the year. In the meantime, Ram continues its winning strategy.