The Jeep Gladiator was one of the most anticipated new trucks to hit the market this year. It takes the ruggedness and off-road capabilities of the Wrangler and adds a truck bed to make the Gladiator one of the most versatile vehicles in Jeep’s lineup.

Even though the Gladiator has quickly become one of the most sought-after trucks of the year according to 2019 sales data, it looks like the truck had sold the fewest amount of vehicles out of any others in its class.

So, is the Jeep Gladiator really one of the worst-selling trucks of the year? The answer is no — it’s actually far from the worst-selling. Keep reading to find out why the Gladiator actually did much better in sales than most people think.

When did the Jeep Gladiator make its debut?

The first shipment of the all-new 2020 Gladiators headed to various U.S. dealerships on April 12, 2019. This marked the first time in decades that Jeep offered a pickup truck in its lineup.

Before the Gladiator even made it to the dealerships lots, many truck enthusiasts already believed this four-door, five-seater pickup truck would be a game-changer in the off-roading truck sector. Because the Gladiator had so much hype before its release, many dealerships did not expect the truck to stay on their lots for long.

Before the initial release of the 2020 Gladiator, Jeep offered a special-edition Gladiator for one day only. Exclusively available on April 4, 2019, the 2020 Jeep Gladiator Launch Edition was only obtainable online through a special website. Jeep made just 4,190 special edition Gladiators and the truck completely sold out by the day’s end.

How many Jeep Gladiators have sold in the U.S. in 2019?

Recently, Good Car Bad Car published a 2019 U.S. sales analysis for pickup trucks and the Gladiator’s numbers were surprisingly low. Good Car Bad Car had reviewed the sales numbers for every major truck during the first three sales quarters of the year.

At first, when you look at the Gladiator’s sales compared to the numbers of the other trucks in its class, it definitely seems like the Gladiator was one of the worst-selling trucks of 2019.

During its debut month, the Gladiator sold only 314 units. The Ford Ranger sold 6,786 units that same month and the GMC Canyon sold 3,870 units in April. The next month, the Gladiator still seemed like it was losing the race as the Nissan Titan, Ford Ranger, and GMC Canyon all sold around 2,000 to 3,000 more units in the U.S.

Is the Jeep Gladiator the worst-selling truck of 2019?

The Gladiator got off to a slow start, but when you consider the sales numbers, you also must take into account the fact that the Gladiator did not go on sale until the end of April. This gave the other trucks in its class a huge head start.

As the year went on, however, the Gladiator’s sales numbers started to dramatically increase. When you compare the Gladiator’s third-quarter sales to the rest of the trucks in its class, you start to see that the Gladiator actually didn’t do that bad this year.

During the third quarter, the Nissan Titan sold a total of 7,386 units. The GMC Canyon’s sales numbers were about the same at 7,347 units. The Gladiator, however, had sold 16,132 units in the third quarter, proving that it certainly wasn’t the worst-selling pickup truck of 2019.

The Ford Ranger sold more units than the Gladiator, meaning that the Gladiator wasn’t the best-selling truck in its class. But the Gladiator is still relatively new and it’s impressive that it can still out-sell some of the other well-known trucks in its class.