If you guess which pickup truck sold the most units in 2021, you’re probably right. It isn’t GM or Toyota’s offerings, but the one that’s been at the top for a long time. The best-selling pickup truck in America has been the same model for 45 years. Don’t worry; we weren’t surprised to see Ford at the top either.

Surprise, surprise: Ford F-Series pickup trucks are the best-selling car of 2021

According to CNBC, Ford F-Series pickup trucks remain America’s best-selling vehicle for a 40th straight year. It has been the truck industry’s top seller for the 45th consecutive year. Although it’s been happening for decades, 2021 is more impressive due to the global chip shortage. It became more difficult for automakers to keep up with production, and therefore sell as many units.

Ford managed to produce enough models to remain at the top. Ford is king despite a boom in popularity from other automaker’s truck options. According to reviewers like MotorTrend, the Ram 1500 is the best pickup truck of 2021. That wasn’t enough to deter the Ford faithful, as they purchased far more F-Series pickups once again.

How did Ford keep up with production despite the semiconductor chip shortage issue?

During the last year-plus, Ford has consistently prioritized the production of the F-Series pickups. Since it is their, and everyone else’s, best-selling vehicle, the automaker knows it needed the most of these models. Throughout the rolling shutdowns of plants this year, Ford only shut down truck production facilities for short amounts of time. Often it was days or weeks, instead of months, for plants producing other models.

Compared to other models, the F-Series did surprisingly well. The Chevy Silverado is even in danger of losing its second-place position to the Ram 1500. This is all thanks to the chip shortage, as there aren’t enough Silverados to go around. Through the first three quarters of 2021, Ram’s full-size pickup truck sales totaled 434,772 units while the Silverado sat at about 407,000, according to CNBC.

Ford F-Series trucks sold more units in 2021 than any model, not just other pickups

Ford sold 663,508 F-Series trucks through November of 2021. Quartz reported that the automaker company grew even more than Tesla this year, with its market cap boosted by the F-150 Lightning electric truck. The following highest-selling models were the Chevy Silverado, Toyota RAV4, Honda CR-V, and Toyota Camry. Ford sold a total of 1.9 million vehicles in 2021, down 6.8% from a year prior.

On the other hand, Ram sold more during the 2021 calendar year. Ram pickup sales climbed 4% in 2021, Stellantis pickup sales declined like Ford’s and many other automakers. Ram’s ability to increase sales during such a difficult time in the automotive industry is impressive, even if it still lost to Ford.

In conclusion, the Ford F-Series models are the best-selling pickup truck of 2021. We know it isn’t surprising since the answer has been the same for over 40 years. That’s a long time for anything to outsell all of its opponents so consistently. However, Ford makes a great product that’s exactly what Americans want, and it’s pretty affordable. Ford will likely gain even more of a lead in 2022, with the release of the F-150 Lightning, Maverick, and even the Ranger Raptor.