June 2014 U.S. Truck Sales – Toyota Tundra Slips
Tim Esterdahl | Jul 03, 2014 | Comments 6
The numbers are out for truck sales in June, 2014. Leading the segment are Ram and the Nissan Frontier. The Toyota Tundra had nearly a 1k unit slip. Is demand finally starting to wan?
The Toyota Tundra had a slow month of June with posting a small drop. Is demand finally slowing?
For the past several months Toyota has been posting increases in Tundra sales. This is the first month of 2014 where the sales were down. Most Toyota fans know or have heard us say that demand has been outstripping supply. Also, Toyota executives have been saying the same thing. Now that the new truck is nearing a one year on the market, I wonders if demand is starting to wan. One month isn’t the end all be all for truck sales and we should be cautious in reading too much into these numbers. Here is how the numbers look:
| Rank | Model YTD Sales | YTD vs 2013 | YEAR-OVER-YEAR | MONTHLY SALES | MONTHLY CHANGE VS. 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ford F-Series | 365,825 | -0.5% | June 2014 June 2013 | 60,560 68,009 | -11.0% |
| 2. Chevrolet Silverado | 240,679 | -0.8% | June 2014 June 2013 | 43,519 43,259 | +0.6% |
| 3. Ram Truck | 230,860 | +19.7% | June 2014 June 2013 | 33,149 29,644 | +11.8% |
| 4. GMC Sierra | 93,191 | +6.3% | June 2014 June 2013 | 15,406 16,568 | -7.0% |
| 5. Toyota Tacoma | 75,149 | -7.4% | June 2014 June 2013 | 12,173 14,023 | -13.2% |
| 6. Toyota Tundra | 57,987 | +12.5% | June 2014 June 2013 | 8,977 9,759 | -8.0% |
| 7. Nissan Frontier | 35,943 | +22.6% | June 2014 June 2013 | 5,722 5,413 | +5.7% |
| 8. Honda Ridgeline | 7,906 | -12.4% | June 2014 June 2013 | 1,309 1,572 | -16.7% |
| 9. Nissan Titan | 6,416 | -27.5% | June 2014 June 2013 | 976 1,300 | -24.9% |
Ford F-Series
Ford posted yet another drop in sales. This is primarily (or at least we guess) due to the new F-150 coming out in a few months. If I were a fleet buyer or consumer, I know I would wait. We are guessing others are doing the same. One note, keep this drop in the back of your mind. IF the F-150 sells really well, Ford could have bloated sales improvement numbers due to weak prior year numbers.
General Motors
Surprisingly (or not so surprisingly) consumers don’t seem to be all that affected by the recalls. Were we expecting a negative sales number? Not really. However, posting a small gain for the Silverado shows consumers aren’t really affected by their issues. Now, if you add the Sierra and Silverado numbers together, you do get a sales drop. Yet, the sales volume drop isn’t that significant.
Ram Truck
The numbers speak for themselves. Consumers continue to be buying these trucks and Ram continues to be picking up market share. In my book, long-term reliability continues to be a concern, but for now Ram Truck is on a roll. One of the interesting things to watch from Ram is whether or not they will ever truly catch the Chevy Silverado in total sales. The rebirth of their commercial truck products and continued improvements could do it. Not a big deal for a truck buyer, just a fun thing to watch. Lastly, I’ll have more about Ram Truck next week and how their unit sale improvements might come back to haunt Chrysler.
Nissan
I speculated in a TacomaHQ.com post (read it here) about Nissan focusing so much on a new Titan that they are somewhat ignoring the Frontier. I, personally, see this as a mistake. The Frontier continues to be a strong performer. Plus, the mid-size segment has buyers who are more open to the Nissan and Toyota products. Once those same customers look at full-size, it seems both Nissan and Toyota fall back in their buying list. If I was running Nissan, I would focus on improving the Frontier to keep my market share and try to win over more mid-size customers. This would create a larger customer base and when these customers moved up to full-size, I would have a better time keeping them in my brand. My two cents.
Honda
Honda continues to compete with the Titan for last place. We know they are working on a new truck and this, along with the current truck’s weaknesses, will continue to drive down sales.
Buying Terms
One other item to note is a growing debate on how current loan terms and interest rates will have on long-term vehicle sales. Right now, you can get a low interest rate on a 7-year loan (84 months!). This long package creates a low payment for customers and allows them to purchase a more expensive truck. However, it also means they will likely be upside down for a longer period. Critics have speculated that this loan package will create a lull in vehicle sales since it keeps consumers out of the marketplace for longer periods of time. The reasoning is that they are upside down longer and likely can’t trade in without buying their way out – not something customers often do. Also, playing a role, may be higher interest rates in the future as the economy stabilizes quite a bit. Ultimately, it remains to be seen how this impacts the next few years of growth in the automotive segment. I’m watching this closely and will keep you informed on what I find.
Filed Under: Auto News
Toyota needs to incorperate it’s hybrid technology into the Tundra, preferably a plug in hybrid that can go 50 miles on electric power. The hybrid system could be disabled for towing, offroading or carrying heavy loads. The cost per mile of Electric vehicles is typically about 1/5 of a comparable gas vehicle. This will be a game changer. Ford and GM fleet sales will rush to the Tundra.
I think Ford and GM are in trouble. Prospective buyers apparently feel the same way; why else would the sales rate (growth or lack thereof) be so dismal for the two “leaders”? I know it is extremely difficult for the major automotive press to understand; people do not like buying high priced products that do not work.
Last winter everyone blamed Ford/GM falling sale rates on the cold weather. I am sure now they would say it is the warm weather. Tomorrow it will be sun spots.
Tundra buyers are by nature normally conservative, they play their cards close to the vest. There actually has been little bit of an economic turn down the last 60 days not genuinely reported in the media and it appears wall street bankers are now in hyper mode which is scary (make it and not lose it while you can).
Yes we may have the 5.7 through the 2017 model year, I do not know? I really do not see anything better on the horizon from any company to displace Tundra from being the power train of choice. Perhaps by 2018, the Tundra will inherent some derivative of the 5.0L Lexus combination Atkinson/Otto cycle economy power house? And again I do not see Ford or GM being able to match it; but what do I know.
The perfect Tundra would be, just fill it up with water. The truck would break apart the clean burning hydrogen and dispense clean oxygen as you go down the road. Until then I am happy with the 5.7.
Seems like people are waking up . Hopefully the downtrend grows enough that Toyota actually releases a real upgrade. I am fine with the 5.7 but they need more HWY mileage. I won’t be investing in the 14′ or 15′ Tundra Maybe the 16′ if Toyota stops skinning the same cat.
agree the 2014 tundra was nothing more than a cosmetic change nothing more of any value and in fact cut corners as well with NO power sliding rear window on DC and other small tight wad cost cuttings in terms of storage inside cab. I do not like nor hate the new comsetic changes but didn’t offer me anything more than a 1K price increase is all buying it out of my pocket.
GM has the 6.2L but ONLY in their high end overpriced top of the line 1/2 tons otherwise I’d be considering GM crewcab 6 1/2′ bed right now since pretty sure the 6.2L will achieve and even get 1-2 more mpg than the current smaller displacement 5.7L tundra with just as much power if not more.
The tundra needs a crewmax 6 1/2′ bed with better hwy. mpg at 2 more mpg and I’d be tickled pink.
I just can’t see Toyota increasing market share with this version truck over the big 3. They only have reliability to count on. I have been a Toyota truck owner(full & mid sized) since 1998 and just started looking at the 2014 DC Tundra to buy in the next 6 months. And as much as I like the new trucks look, my biggest concerns are comfort and payload. I looked at one last evening and was amazed by the lack of storage pockets and it was uncomfortable to sit in. The back seats had nothing in them and the front only has the glove box and center console. Plus, the overall gas mileage downright stinks. With all that said, I haven’t compared much.
As I researched this today, I am leaning towards GM. I won’t buy a Ram and until Ford adds regular doors on their extended cabs, I won’t consider.
Diesel, diesel, diesel. MPG, power and longevity. When will Toyota wake up? The downturn at Toyota is more a reflection of the 2.9 % economic contraction in the 1st quarter than its product offering but not having a diesel is not going to help them. This nation is going in the wrong direction economically. Case in point: GM’s numbers are down despite a vastly improved product. Ford is also taking a hit despite a conservative improvement before its all aluminum F-150 in 2015. Both have no diesel. The Ram is pulling away on the heels of its small V6 diesel as people hold back on V8 purchases in a recession-like environment with record high gas prices. People were believing the media when they were told the recession was over. Now they may be sobering up to the fact that this administration won’t be getting out of the way to help us reap reasonable oil prices. Diesel has always prevailed in poor economic conditions. Look at Europe. The diesel is mostly what they are driving.