The Ford F-150 Pickup Truck Was the Best Selling Vehicle in the Pandemic Era
The pandemic has heavily impacted new car and used car sales. More specifically, the semiconductor chip shortages have left automakers unable to keep up with demand. However, the Ford F-150 pickup truck seems unphased by the whole situation and remains the top-selling vehicle during the pandemic era.
The Ford F-150 pickup truck remained the top seller, even without 149,053 units
Forbes gathered car sales data before and after the pandemic to compare buyers’ preferences. The numbers that follow are from the first two quarters of 2016. The top seller in the middle of 2019 was the Ford F-150 pickup truck, which sold 448,398 units. Selling 299,480 units, the Ram 1500 was in the second spot. That was followed by the Chevrolet Silverado 1500, which sold 255,463 units.
Comparing that to the first two quarters of 2022 offers an interesting look. The 2022 Ford F-150 has sold 299,345 units thus far, down 149,053 since 2019. Chevy managed to move 259,516 units of the Silverado 1500 this time around, which is up 4,053 from 2019. It kicked the Ram out of second place, too. The Ram 1500 has moved 244,983 units this year, down 54,497 from 2019.
The Toyota RAV4 SUV snagged fourth place in both years, and the Toyota Camry kicked the Honda CR-V out of fifth place for 2022.
Will the Ford F-150 pickup truck be able to keep the top spot?
The fact that the Ford F-150 pickup truck is down 149,053 sales in 2022 is astonishing. It remains the top-selling vehicle in America despite being unable to move almost 150,000 trucks this year. Between the factory closures, lack of parts, and shortage of semiconductors, the proof of the destruction is in the numbers.
That doesn’t mean demand has gone down at all. If anything, demand has gone up in the last two years. In the 2019 period before the pandemic, the price of a new car was around $39,000. Now, it is over $47,000, and $1,000 a month car payments are normal.
The Ford F-150 pickup truck might remain in the top spot, but it stands to lose that simply due to a lack of inventory. The GMC Sierra truck also moved up from number 20 to number seven. Forbes suggests that buyers looking for a Ford or Chevy might have gone with a GMC simply because it was available.
Only four sedans remain on this list, while the rest are SUVs
Out of 20 options for 2022, only four passenger cars made it. That’s down from six in 2019. The Toyota Camry, Toyota Corolla, and Honda Civic lead the way. The Honda Accord had quite the fall, falling from spot 12 in 2019 to 20 in 2022. That leaves about 10 spots for SUVs like the Toyota RAV4, Highlander, and Honda CR-V.
Also, notable new entries are from Tesla, with the Model Y electric SUV and Tesla Model 3 making the list. Tesla didn’t enter the top 20 in 2019. The rest of 2022 will likely be decided by who can get the most cars off the production line and into the hands of buyers. If GMC, Chevy, and Ram have the supply, it could seriously hurt the Ford F-150 pickup truck’s future sales.
