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Australia is big like the United States with deserts and oceans and the inhabitants love the same things like the outdoors and sport, and even the same kind of cars and music and beer, well, maybe not beer. But it made sense that with so much in common between these two peoples on either side of the planet, the arrival of the extra large pick-up trucks would be met by open Aussie arms.
After all, we love our utes here: the Ford Ranger, the Toyota HiLux and the Isuzu D-Max were the three best-selling vehicles in 2023 and while physically tiny in comparison to the pick-ups surely even bigger utes would mean big sales? Or did the car companies get that wrong?
The answer could be a bit of a yes-and-no one. Yes, in that the healthy amount of big pick-ups sold such as the RAM 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado has proven that the interest has been there, but also no, in that the impressive sales numbers might not be sustainable. And to this last point what we could be nearing is a downturn based on the simple issue of those who really want one have now got one and won’t be looking to replace it for a few years.
The four brands currently selling big pick-ups in Australia are Ford (F-150), RAM (1500, 2500, 3500), Chevrolet (Silverado and Silverado HD), and Toyota (Tundra). Last year their collective sales was 10,363 which was up from 8538 in 2022. So far this year up until the end of September 7643 pick-ups have been sold. At this point last year the figure was 8095. Sure it’s only a 5.6 per cent drop year-on-year, but it’s not growth either.
Individually the big pick-up brands are experiencing some successes. GMSV sold its 10,000th Silverado this year and the company’s Managing Director Jess Bala said sales of the model are up by 29 per cent and the HD’s sales are up by 16 per cent putting 2024 “on track for the best Silverado year so far”.
The Chevrolet Silverado arrived in Australia in 2020 in an attempt to take on the RAM 1500 that had arrived the year before. Both popular for their enormous power and colossal towing ability and polarising for their enormous size and aggressive looks, these big pick-ups proved an almost instant hit. The sales success undoubtedly helped convince those that needed convincing at Ford to bring its F-150 here earlier this year and the same for Toyota and its Tundra, which will officially go on sale in mid-November.
But with more big pick-ups to choose from than Australia's have ever had, overall sales could stall, despite victories being claimed here and there. Is there a possibility that the market is already close to saturation and the prediction for how many big pick-ups could be absorbed by Australia was overestimated? Basically, has everybody who really wanted one now got one? Whether the introduction of new brands will move the overall sales needle is yet to be seen.
To make matters more confusing the sales of utes like the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux are still strong and growing. Year-to-date 157,146 utes have been sold, and that’s the four-wheel drive ones. Sales for the 4x4 Ranger are up by 14.4 per cent for the year so far and HiLux is up by 4.7 per cent.
In what could be a similar situation to the big pick-up slump but for the other end of the vehicle spectrum is the cooling off of electric vehicle sales.
Australian electric car sales are stalling and they are in a worse condition in Europe and the US. Car makers are slashing prices to help boost sales as the early adopters already have their electric car and they need to work harder to convert everyday buyers to the EV dream.
In Australia MG ripped $10,000 off the price of its MG4 electric hatchback that now starts at $30,990 drive-away as the company tries to clear stock.
Tesla cut the price of its Model 3 and Model Y several times in a month making them roughly $8000 more affordable in a matter of weeks.
Peugeot and Renault have cut $20,000 and $10,000 off the price of their slow selling electric cars anf there are plenty of other examples of deep price cuts to boost sales.
That scenario could also be applicable to the big pick-up situation, which is starting to experience a stall in sales and could be followed by the potential of a fall in interest that would lead to some heavy discounting.
We’re already seeing the beginnings of what could be a price war between the four brands especially as Ford and Toyota do their best to muscle in and crash what has been Ram and Chevy’s big pick-up party for a couple of years.
The price tag of big pick-ups would be prohibitive to many buyers even if they wanted one. Not a single model currently lists for less than $100K, with the entry grade F-150 being $106,950, while the most affordable Tundra is $145,990, the RAM 1500 starts at $119,950 and the entry grade Silverado is $130,500.
In their home country the same vehicles have a much lower price that’s closer to what we would pay for a high-grade Ranger or HiLux in Australia. The F150 XLT for example is US$45,494 which is about A$68,000 at current exchange rates. There are then the costs of importing a low volume to Australia and other costs not least of which is converting these left-hand drive trucks to right-hand drive. It all adds up and the consumer pays for it.
But if you are pondering getting into pick-up it might be worth waiting and watching what happens. If the EV landscape is anything to go buy, all it takes is a brand to break away with a cut price offer to make the rest of the pack chase them. Likewise the arrival of a new player, possibly Chinese, can really upset the apple cart and as a buyer you could definitely end up benefiting. Now’s the time to wait and see, things are about to get interesting.
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