On the Mend

Sales of compact pickup trucks in the U.S. are up 2.1% for the first six months of 2005, according to Ward's data. Some 348,884 have been sold this year.

It is not a great leap forward, as sales of the vehicles in the first six months of 2004 were down 9.3% over 2003 levels. Still, newer models such as the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, Nissan Frontier and Toyota Tacoma have stemmed some bleeding in the segment.

Most notable is the sales increase of the General Motors Corp. entries, which had appeared dead on arrival in late 2003.

Colorado sales have risen 50% in the year's first six months to 75,387 units, and Canyon sales jumped a whopping 86.5% ahead of year-ago to 20,246. To date, the Colorado and Canyon have exceeded first-half 2003 sales of their predecessors, the Chevy S-10 and GMC Sonoma.

Excluding June's boost from GM's “Employee Discount for Everyone,” Colorado was up 40.1% January-May and Canyon sales rose 65.1% in the first five months vs. year-ago.

The average industry incentive on Colorado has actually decreased this year, going from $3,034 in January to $2,860 in June, according to Edmunds.com. The Chevy S-10, by comparison, had an average $2,876 on its hood in June 2002. Canyon incentives are down as well, from $3,362 in January to $2,867 in June. And June incentives were $178 below June 2002 spiffs.

Tom Wallace, GM's vehicle line executive-midsize trucks and SUVs, told Ward's in March that although he saw the segment at 600,000-700,000 annual units from here out, sales could go up if gas prices continue to rise.

Compact pickup sales peaked in 1986, when 1.46 million units were sold, compared with 1.06 million five years ago.

Both Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. launhed redesigned compact entries, the Tacoma and Frontier, respectively, for the '05 model year.

Frontier sales were up 2.4% in the first six months to 34,480 units. Tacoma, however, fell slightly to 77,932 units vs. 79,091 year-ago, due to slow sales of the 2-wheel drive model, down 2.7% vs. year-ago.

Yet, of the two, only Tacoma is seeing more volume than it did three years ago, when 75,699 units were sold from January to June 2002. The Frontier is nearly 4,000 units shy of its like-2002 level.

Incentives for both are low. The Frontier's average incentive fell dramatically from January to June ($1,792 to $266). Toyota offered just $93 off the Tacoma in June, $11 more than January's incentive but down from $162 three years ago, says Edmunds.com.

Chrysler Group's Dodge Dakota also was new for '05, but its sales decreased slightly (0.3%) in the first six months vs. year-ago at 55,549 units.

Demand is off 12,314 units from like-2002. Chrysler responded by offering $4,305 off the vehicle in June, nearly $1,000 more than the January incentive ($3,383) and more than double the June 2002 incentive of $2,045.

Sales of Ford Motor Co.'s Ranger, long the best-selling compact pickup, have plunged 31.4% this year. Ford sold 27,218 fewer Rangers in the year's first half than it did in like-2004.

The Ranger, last new as a '93 model, is not scheduled for a redo until about 2010. Ford in the meantime likely will lean heavily on its forthcoming Explorer Sport Trac redesign, which Ward's places in the middle SUV segment. Ranger's June 2005 incentive was $3,170, $464 more than January and $885 more than June 2002.

The wild card in the segment is Honda Motor Co. Ltd.'s new Ridgeline sport/utility truck, the only entry based on what Honda calls a “heavy-duty unibody” instead of conventional body-on-frame.

So far this year, Honda has moved 14,225 Ridgelines. The vehicle has been available since March, and sales expectations for the calendar year are in the 45,000-50,000 range. There currently are no incentives on the vehicle.

Bit players in the segment include the Mazda B Series, down 41.5% in the first six months, the biggest drop in the segment this year if the S-10 and Sonoma are excluded; the Subaru Baja, down 17.8% year-to-date; and the Chevy SSR, down 8.2% January-June.

Tacoma is the segment leader at the year's halfway point, edging out the Colorado by more than 2,000 units. The Ranger is third, followed by the Dakota, Frontier and Canyon.
— with John D. Stoll