It Looks Like Ram Is Doomed to Lose Ground to Its 2 Biggest Rivals This Year
With its redesign in 2019, the Ram trucks lineup took the fight for supremacy to both Chevrolet and Ford. While the Ford F-Series’ place atop the sales-figure standings never waivered, Ram took over second place for a time. However, Ram is losing ground to its two biggest rivals in 2023.
2023 Ram pickup truck sales figures
GoodCarBadCar reported U.S. vehicle sales figures for the third quarter (Q3) of 2023 earlier this month. Sorting the data reveals that the Ford F-Series and Chevrolet Silverado saw increasing sales, while Ram lost ground.
So far this year, Ford sold 573,370 F-Series, up 22.70%, and Chevrolet sold 411,758 Silverados, up 8.64%. For comparison, Ram sold 332,441 trucks thus far in 2023, a decrease of 8.44 percent from 2022. Ram must sell 80,000 more trucks than Chevy in Q4 to overtake second place, but that seems unlikely.
Why are Ram’s sales figures slipping?
While Ram was a solid top-three contender for years, its 2019 redesign put it ahead of the Chevy Silverado. In fact, while reviewing the 2019 Ram 1500, Car and Driver called it “the best pickup truck for 2019.” That’s a bold statement about the third-best-selling line of pickup trucks at the time.
In 2019, Ram sold 633,694 trucks combined between the newly redesigned version and the older-style Ram Classic. Ram rival Chevrolet sold 575,569 Silverados, falling behind Ram in sales for the first time. Then, in 2021, Ram sold 39,624 more trucks than Chevrolet to prove the first time wasn’t an accident.
With all of the success enjoyed by Ram’s 2019 redesign, the lack of standard features is a hurdle people must cross when buying a 2023 Ram. U.S. News ranks the 2023 Ram 1500 ahead of the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado thanks to its low MSRP, upscale interior, confident handling, and comfortable ride. However, consumers continue buying more Fords and Chevys.
Will Ram ever replace Ford or Chevy in the top two?
Considering the historical sales performance of the three brands, it seems unlikely that Ram will ever entirely surpass the Ford F-Series for the top spot. Although, Ram will likely keep dogging Chevrolet for the number two spot, occasionally taking it over for periods.
However, imagine if General Motors decided to bring its two full-size truck brands under one umbrella, something like GM-Series trucks. So far in 2023, GM has sold 216,227 Sierras and 411,758 Silverados, together far outselling the Ford F-Series.
Like Ram, the Chevrolet Silverado also underwent its last redesign in 2019. On the other hand, Ford introduced its fourteenth generation F-150 for the 2021 model year. If Ram wants to regain market share and overtake the Chevy Silverado again, it must present a more attractive package to consumers.
Ram’s most recent strategy of offering an updated version alongside the previous generation Classic seems to have run its course. Consumers appear content with buying a truck loaded with popular options at a higher price instead of a lower base-priced truck and adding options through conflicting package offerings.
