September 2015 Sees Both Toyota Trucks Stumble
Tim Esterdahl | Oct 05, 2015 | Comments 3
The September sales numbers are in and both Toyota trucks stumbled to decreases against the prior year. Toyota says they simply ran out of trucks.
While the company surged, both Toyota trucks stumbled.
For the month, Toyota overall posted an impressive gain of 16 percent over the prior year and its best September since 2007. Both the Highlander and RAV4 set September sales record. Lexus was also up for its 24th consecutive month with a 16 percent gain of their own.
While the company did well, the trucks both experienced losses. Toyota says they ran low on pickup inventories for the month and are working hard to get trucks to dealers. They say the Tacoma has a 24-day supply, while the Tundra has a 40-day supply.
“When you start running at four out of five months above 17.5 [million-unit selling rate], and this month looks like it’s going to be over 18, there’s going to be gaps in every manufacturer’s lineup,” Bill Fay, general manager of Toyota Division, told reporters on a conference call said, according to Auto News. “When the market shifts that much, we’re all reacting the best we can.”
The facts are consumers are shifting more towards SUVs and trucks rather than compact cars. With improvements to fuel economy for these larger vehicles, consumers don’t have to sacrifice size for MPGs.
In the 2nd quarter of 2016, Toyota is expected to go live with a third-shift at the San Antonio plant. Maybe this increased production will help ease inventory concerns.
| Rank | Model YTD Sales | YTD vs. 2014 | Year-Over-Year | Monthly Sales | Monthly Change vs. 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - Ford F-Series | 564,451 | +1.3% | September 2015 September 2014 | 69,651 59,863 | +16.4% |
| 2 - Chevy Silverado | 440,904 | +15.4% | September 2015 September 2014 | 53,725 50,176 | +7.1% |
| 3 - Ram Truck | 330,643 | +3.4% | September 2015 September 2014 | 36,598 36,612 | +0% |
| 4 - GMC Sierra | 161,653 | +9.8% | September 2015 September 2014 | 19,754 16,763 | +17.8% |
| 5 - Toyota Tacoma | 133,672 | +16.5% | September 2015 September 2014 | 11,608 11,993 | -3.2% |
| 6 - Toyota Tundra | 89,626 | +0.9% | September 2015 September 2014 | 8,044 8,736 | -7.9% |
| 7 - Chevy Colorado | 63,232 | NA | September 2015 September 2014 | 7,334 0 | NA |
| 8 - Nissan Frontier | 47,261 | -14.6% | September 2015 September 2014 | 4,617 6,853 | -32.6% |
| 9 - GMC Canyon | 22,426 | NA | September 2015 September 2014 | 2,332 0 | NA |
| 10 - Nissan Titan | 9,521 | -1.8% | September 2015 September 2014 | 1,078 977 | +10.3% |
| 11 - Honda Ridgeline | 515 | -95.5% | September 2015 September 2014 | 2 978 | -99.8% |
Ford Re-Surges
As expected Ford has rebounded from months of stagnant sales to post a big sales gain. Our expectation is inventory is finally making its way to the dealer lots and shoring up gaps in vehicle selection. One can expect sales to climb for a few more months as Ford faces weak sales numbers with 2014 consumers waiting for the 2015 pickup.
Chevy Holds Strong
Faced with a re-surging Ford, Chevy and GMC held strong with gains of their own. Industry insiders tell us Chevy has a lot of cash on the hood of each truck compared to other manufactures. We can’t confirm this, but it certainly makes sense with the cutthroat market right now.
While we certainly don’t see Ford losing their #1 position, a potential strike could definitely hit them hard.
Editor’s Note: We accidentally neglected to post the August sales results. Here they are now:
| Rank | Model YTD Sales | YTD vs. 2014 | Year-Over-Year | Monthly Sales | Monthly Change vs. 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 - Ford F-Series | 494,800 | -0.5% | August 2015 August 2014 | 71,332 68,109 | +4.7% |
| 2 - Chevy Silverado | 387,179 | +16.6% | August 2015 August 2014 | 54,977 49,201 | +11.7% |
| 3 - Ram Truck | 294,045 | +3.8% | August 2015 August 2014 | 45,310 43,775 | +3.5% |
| 4 - GMC Sierra | 141,899 | +8.7% | August 2015 August 2014 | 21,241 19,847 | +7.0% |
| 5 - Toyota Tacoma | 122,064 | +18.8% | August 2015 August 2014 | 16,230 14,338 | +13.2% |
| 6 - Toyota Tundra | 81,582 | +1.8% | August 2015 August 2014 | 10,057 11,834 | -15.0% |
| 7 - Chevy Colorado | 55,898 | NA | August 2015 August 2014 | 7,114 0 | NA |
| 8 - Nissan Frontier | 42,644 | -12.1% | August 2015 August 2014 | 3,645 6,770 | -46.2% |
| 9 - GMC Canyon | 20,094 | NA | August 2015 August 2014 | 2,423 0 | NA |
| 10 - Nissan Titan | 8,443 | -3.2% | August 2015 August 2014 | 1,268 1,231 | +3.0% |
| 11 - Honda Ridgeline | 513 | -95.2% | August 2015 August 2014 | 4 1,347 | -99.7% |
Filed Under: Auto News
Sweers has some dated products, it shows in the numbers, not surprising.
New Tacoma’s hitting lots now.
Tundra remains a truck designed in 2006.
Stumble – Seriously?
Here is what I see in the charts:
Taco 9 months ended Sep 2015 133,672 units
Tundra 9 months ended Sep 2015 89,626 units
Taco 9 months ended Sep 2014 -114,729 units
Tundra 9 months ended Sep 2014 -88,869 units
So for the nine months ended Toyota produced 19,700 more trucks than the 9 months ended in 2014 AND the dealers lots are almost empty in Texas at the end of August and the first two weeks in September (at least in Texas).
That’s 19,700 more trucks than last year, or an average increase of 2,188 more trucks per month.
All that with the change over to the 2016 Taco.
It will be interesting to see what happens if/when the third shift starts?
I just went on vacation in northern Idaho, and was shocked by what I saw. In addition to awesome scenery, I have never seen such a high ratio of Tundra and Tacoma trucks. Someone is selling a bunch in that area. They were everywhere. I’m hoping someone from the area can let me know the skinny.
I even saw my first 2016 Tacoma going down the road.