F-Series Sales Support Ford’s Focus on Pickups

Ford trucks are beating Chevy and Ram while outselling the top cars by almost three-to-one.

Earlier this year, Ford Motor Company shocked the automotive world when it was announced that the automaker would be discontinuing almost all of its car nameplates in an effort to focus on trucks and SUVs. FCA had previously made a move to shift their company focus away from cars and since then, General Motors has announced a similar shift. Many people still question the decision to focus the majority of the company’s resources on larger, heavier and less-efficient vehicles, but current sales trends show that FoMoCo is making the right move.

F-Series Sales through November

We are probably about two weeks away from getting the final sales numbers for the 2018 calendar year, but based on numbers from the end of November, we can paint a pretty clear picture of sales trends in the US auto industry.

Through the first 11 months of 2018, Ford has sold 821,558 examples of the F-Series pickup, just 1.8% from the same period last year. That leads to an average of about 75,000 trucks sold each month and at this rate, the Motor Company is likely to sell around 900,000 pickups in the US in 2018, making this one of the best sales years ever for the F-Series.

The growth in truck sales isn’t restricted to Ford, as Ram truck sales are up 5%, Chevrolet Silverado sales are up 1.6% and Toyota Tundra sales are up 1.4%, with only the GMC Sierra and the Nissan Titan posting sales declines in the full-size truck segment. Overall, the large truck segment is up and while Ford doesn’t lead the way in growth, the F-Series will likely be the bestselling vehicle in the US for the 37^th-straight year while leading all truck sales for the 42^nd year in a row.

So trucks are up, but more importantly, cars are down.

America’s Bestselling Cars Struggle

Over the course of the past decade, the bestselling car in the United States has been the Toyota Camry or the Honda Accord, both of which are down over the first 11 months of 2018. With 298,991 Camrys sold this year, Toyota is down 4% with their top-seller while the Accord is down 13%, sitting at 262,444 units with just one month left on the year. Based on their current sales rates, the Camry could end up in the area of 325,000 units while the Accord should finish up around 285,000 units.

In other words, the bestselling truck in the US will outsell the bestselling car by a rate of nearly three-to-one, even as fuel prices and truck prices continue to rise. Best of all, as truck sales rise and car sales fall, the F-Series continues to be the top choice among all vehicles sold in the United States, so it looks like Ford trucks are likely to lead the industry for years to come.

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Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

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