March 2014 Truck Sales Figures – Big Month for Tundra
Tim Esterdahl | Apr 01, 2014 | Comments 13
The sales figures are in for March and the Tundra continues to sell well. With the Tacoma slipping a bit, Toyota has to be pretty happy with the Tundra’s sales increase.
The Toyota Tundra had a good month in March with a large increase in sales.
Here are the full-size truck sales results:
| Rank | Model YTD Sales | YTD vs 2013 | YEAR-OVER-YEAR | MONTHLY SALES | MONTHLY CHANGE VS. 2013 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Ford F-Series | 173,358 | +2.7% | March 2014 March 2013 | 70,940 67,513 | +5.1% |
| 2. Chevrolet Silverado | 107,757 | -7.6% | March 2014 March 2013 | 42,247 39,561 | +6.8% |
| 3. Ram Truck | 96,906 | +24.9% | March 2014 March 2013 | 42,532 33,831 | +25.7% |
| 4. GMC Sierra | 42,213 | +3.5% | March 2014 March 2013 | 16,863 13,817 | +22.0% |
| 5. Toyota Tacoma | 35,229 | -10.7% | March 2014 March 2013 | 14,445 15,201 | -5.0% |
| 6. Toyota Tundra | 27,402 | +16.2% | March 2014 March 2013 | 11,589 9,270 | +25.0 |
| 7. Nissan Frontier | 17,862 | +46.7% | March 2014 March 2013 | 7,140 6,818 | +4.7% |
| 8. Honda Ridgeline | 3,844 | -9.9% | March 2014 March 2013 | 1,538 1,712 | -10.2% |
| 9. Nissan Titan | 3,318 | -35.1 | March 2014 March 2013 | 1,314 2,084 | -36.9% |
Officially Toyota says, it saw “the best March truck month in seven years.” And for the first time since last August, Toyota truck sales topped 26,000. We would love to see the sales increase be larger, yet we know Toyota is hesitant to increase production.
Ford continues to slowly increase their truck sales and topped 70,000 for the first time this year.
Ram is the big surprise as they had yet another month of impressive sales increases. They say this is their best March in 10 years. Ram says that light-duty sales were up 24 percent and heavy-duty sales were up 28 percent. Remember though that this number includes the ProMaster van which saw a 85 percent increase as well as the Cargo Van, up 19 percent – best March ever.
GM truck sales again disappoint, but remember they are holding the line on their pricing to increase their profits.
Lastly, you have Nissan and Honda who didn’t do much.
What do you think? Any surprises?
Filed Under: Tundra News
I think pricing has always been significantly different in different parts of the county. GM discounts in Texas have been $5,000 to $7,500 the last month or so. Ford’s discounts are even greater. I expect GM’s discounts to virtually match Ford’s for April? What this tells me: Because of Ford’s and GM’s lower quality they have to discount more and more; even so they are not getting the percentage gains like Tundra and RAM. Here is GM’s set up for discounts for March in Texas:
http://bizbeatblog.dallasnews......kups.html/
Even with those discounts there is a five month supply of Silverado’s here.
Randy,
I have heard from other people that GM is ramping up their discounts. This is probably all part of their “pricing strategy” and we will have to wait and see how it plays out.
-Tim
I think it’s really easy to explain…
The ram and tundra are the best trucks right now.
Those are surprising and great numbers from Toyota on the Tundra. Espeically for a truck that disregarded by magazines and journalists with an agenda.
While I think the Tundra needs engine and driveline updates to remain competitive in the MPG department it’s good to see them selling.
DJ,
Good points about journalists knocking the truck. What do they know? Myself included! LOL.
The surprising thing for me is IF you listened to the journalists, the Tundra won’t sell at all: poor MPG, bad ride quality and lack of powertrain options. Yet, it is quite well. This tells me that those journalists are missing a key part of truck buying: reliability.
-Tim
well, I helped them Monday night just bought a blue ribbon SR5 double cab pd. 34K (only 500 rebate) got 26.6K trade in on my near identical nautical blue 2012 SR5 DC with 24K miles tires would need be replacing before next winter. Not too shabby my tundra depreciated about 5.5K in 2 full years of driving but didn’t put the miles on it like I would’ve liked to normally would have 30K miles on it in 2 years. I would’ve loved a 2K rebate still would think my truck would’ve been worth 26K even but the 3 dealers I was dealing with all told me tundras are selling like hotcakes and judging my the very few on the lot and to pick from, especially double cabs in my region, rebates won’t be going up anytime soon. Dealer even offered to hold off until Tuesday, April 1st, to see if rebates go up which they did not. I was almost afraid the 500 rebate would go away since production is barely keeping up with demand with so few new 2014 tundra’s on the lots.
Now that I bit the bullet, I sure hope the tundra rebates stay WAY low and demand stays WAY high for years to come so my tundra retains even more resale.
Although the 2014 lost many storage areas and SR5 DC NO power sliding rear window option and NO dual climate controls (2 things I will dearly miss in the SR5), it does ride a tad better on the road, steering wheel is easier to turn (more pwr. assist) and interior and exterior overall is better, just will take some time to get used to is all.
Back on topic, RAM sales are doing great around here as well as tundra vs. ford and GM as sales figures proves even here in ford/GM country. I was going to jump ship and buy a silverado crewcab 6 1/2′ bed but the higher price and not high enough rebates plus the fact they are NOT selling around me (too high in msrp even with 3500 rebates), plus the engine power was still lacking with 3.42 rear axle ratio and interior was better but not great, but it did ride 10x better smooth vs. the tundra if you want a very soft, plush ride.
Congrats on the new truck!
-Tim
Well I also helped Toyota do well in late February when I bought a white two wheel drive 1794 edition. Love it. The reason Tundras are doing well is because they fill a niche that the journalists don’t understand: CAPABILITY and QRD.
Even with the accelerator issue, Toyota has done very well in the contest to produce quality vehicles that have a lot of capability/utility. I just got an unsolicited offer to buy my old 2000 Avalon XLS with 165K miles. Asked the guy why he wanted to buy such an old car. He said it’s in very good condition (I baby my vehicles) and he knows Toyotas just don’t quit. This QRD with a functional set of amenities and comfort/safety items is what keeps us a Toyota family and will do so as long as we live.
I drove the 2000 Avalon to work yesterday and today. It runs and handles like a new car.
Our stable:
2000 Avalon XLS 165K
2012 Avalon Limited 25K
2014 Tundra 1794 Edition 1.5K
Yep, reliability and QRD. I keep going to media events and I’m blown away by the journalists who get all worked up about the fancy new features. Blah… Give me a solid truck, that’s all I ask.
-Tim
THose are good numbers for Toyota. But it’s a big climb to the F-150’s spot and Ford has the aluminum truck coming out that will make or break them.
However, Toyota’s decision to offer a powerful V8 diesel, is a market break through. If they offer it in an 8spd, they could topple the segment like they did when they first came out with a 6 spd (2007) and had everyone scrambling to catch up.
The Ram’s unusual decision to offer a 6 cyl diesel makes Chrysler unable to offer a powerful, light weight alternative for a buyer who doesn’t want to drive an HD diesel that weighs north of 7500 lbs – who wants torque and MPG.
Toyota’s V8 Cummins will offer 500+ ft. lbs of torque in a truck that weighs under 6k lbs! They’re going to own this segment as will Nissan. But the Titan will have a lot of ground to make up for when theirs comes out. But they too are doing it right! A 6cyl diesel has no place in a large, American pickup truck.
If Ford and GM had any real sense, they would unveil their V8 diesels they produced some yrs ago before the industry collapsed and bring them out in their 1/2 tons. Rumor is GM wants to make a 6cyl Duramax.
Look for Toyota to take the lead here. I know they’ll get it right! What a truck it’s going to be.
I was in the market for a used truck and man do the tundras hold their value. I ended up with a 2011 Titan SL 4×4 with 20k miles. I stole it for 25,000. I wanted a tundra but you couldn’t touch them in that price range.
I noticed the SL Titan has a lot more payload capacity than a Limited or 1794 Tundra. I have about 2000lbs capacity vs 1410 for the Tundra.
Obviously the Tundra has a towing advantage and has a newer drivetrain which is really nice. I really like the boxed frame compared to the open C which I wonder why Toyota will be the only one using it.
The Tundra has reliability and durability but I feel watching the market that they will be the only left with an open C frame. At one point, Ford F-150, Silverado, and their HD trucks were using an open C frame. With the exception of the F-250, all have gone to a boxed frame. The F-250 is next to go to a boxed frame. Also, why does Toyota use a boxed frame on the hilux, which has the more payload capacity as the Tundra? A hilux can haul 1300kg which translate to 3000 pounds. Toyota is looking to have all their vehicles share frames and architecture. Will this transfer to the pick-ups?
I hope the Tundra is going to get that Cummins diesel. I have a family member who works for corporate Nissan and from what he knows the new Titan will retain the fully boxed frame. New, larger rear ends, 8 speed tranny across the line. Engine line up- V6, two gas V8s, and the Cummins V8. The top end V8 will produce around 430 HP estimated figures.
I hope all these sales make Toyota put more R&D into the Tundra.
Rick
I am not so sure on your statement about 6 cylinder diesels having no place in American trucks.
Cummins has made some straight 6 engines that have not exactly been slouches
I gotta agree with BB. The Cummins straight six diesels in Alabama are considered the are much more numerous than the Navistar or their successors for Ford. Ford has had more than a few V8 diesel problems. I am not aware of any serious Cummins diesel problems with their in line sixes. Duramax V8 diesels are a very distant third, in terms of popularity, if the numbers that I see on the road are any indication.