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Coronavirus shakes up America's truck market: GM outselling Ford and Ram

FCA, Ford and General Motors joined the rest of the U.S. auto industry in taking heavy volume hits due to coronavirus-related shortages of both cars and customers. The saying goes that a rising tide lifts all boats; it stands to reason, then, that a falling one would have the opposite effect.  However, as we learned Thursday, the automotive market can behave in unpredictable ways. While the F-Series remained the best-selling nameplate in Q1, GM's full-size trucks are now outselling Ford's again for the first time in years, and with this upward thrust from the General, FCA's Ram was unceremoniously booted out of a hard-earned second place.  While late-March sales declines hit just about every major automaker in one way or another, the model-by-model results weren't nearly so uniform. And because the market tends to be a zero-sum game, for every winner, there generally has to be a loser.  In this case, that winner was GM, and its rise had to come at the expense of another automaker, in this case, Ford. F-Series sales dropped 13.1 percent in the first quarter of 2020, while sales of GM's full-sized Silverado and Sierra surged nearly 28% in the same period. FCA's Ram lineup managed a steady-as-she-goes 7% increase. All-in, GM finished the quarter with 197,743 full-size trucks sold to Ford's 186,562. Here's the full breakdown: Ford F-Series: 186,562  Chevrolet Silverado*: 144,734 Ram P/U: 128,805 GMC Sierra: 53,009 *includes 1,036 Medium Duty sales Things are a but murkier in the midsize segment, where the Chevy Colorado slipped 36% to just 21,430 units sold — just a few hundred better than the slow-selling Ford Ranger's Q1 numbers. The GMC Canyon experienced an almost identical slide, finishing the quarter with just 4,483 units sold. For perspective, Jeep sold more than 15,000 Gladiators and Toyota's midsize Tacoma slipped less than 8%, finishing the quarter with nearly 54,000 sales.  We suspect this discrepancy in full- and mid-size truck sales comes from shifting incentives. Ford, GM and FCA would like to keep selling bigger trucks because there's far more profit margin built into their list prices. Even with tens of thousands of dollars in manufacturer money on the hood, big trucks still make money.  Since these automakers report quarterly, we won't get another good look at these numbers until July, but if you thought that 2019 represented the new normal for U.S. auto sales, well, think again.

Your official Ford Transit specs are here, $29,565* to start

Ford has released the full list of pricing and specs on its new Transit, the replacement for the long-lived E-Series cargo van. Prices are set to start at $29,565 and can increase rapidly from there, depending on length, engine and wheelbase, among other options.
Let's talk first about those new engines. The base is the familiar 3.7-liter, naturally aspirated V6. It boasts 275 horsepower and 260 pound-feet of torque and can return up to 14 miles per gallon in the city and 19 mpg on the highway. This engine can also be adapted to run on LPG or compressed natural gas. Of course, there are better alternatives, for a price, the first of which is Ford's well-received, 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. It packs 310 hp and a best-in-class 400 lb-ft of torque (available at just 2,500 rpm) while matching the naturally aspirated engine in both city and highway fuel economy.
Then, there's the diesel. With a 3.2-liter, five-cylinder diesel mill at its disposal, the Transit generates 350 lb-ft between 1,500 and 2,500 rpm, along with 185 hp. This engine hasn't been rated by the EPA, although we'd be really, really surprised if it didn't handily best either of the gas-powered engines in fuel efficiency. A six-speed automatic is standard, regardless of engine.

Ford surges with record 2Q profit

We already knew that the second quarter of 2015 has been good to General Motors. For Ford, though, it's been even better. The Blue Oval saw a net income of $1.9 billion, $800 million more than its larger cross-town rival. Pre-tax profits were even more impressive, at $2.9B. Those figures aren't only more impressive than what GM could conjure up, they improved handily over the same period in 2014. Net profits were up by $574 million, or a staggering 44 percent, while pre-tax profits saw a 10-percent bump over 2014. Ford Credit also had a strong quarter, raking in just over half a billion dollars before taxes. So yeah, Ford calling Q2 "outstanding" in its press release is no exaggeration. The vast majority of Ford's positive Q2 can be attributed to the North American market, which made up $2.6 billion of the company's pre-tax profits. South America, the Middle East, and Europe were all down, although Asia delivered some relief, making $192 million before taxes. Scroll down for the official press brief from Ford. JUL 28, 2015 | DEARBORN, MICH. FORD REPORTS STRONG SECOND QUARTER RESULTS; PRE-TAX PROFIT $2.9 BILLION; NET INCOME $1.9 BILLION DEARBORN, Mich., July 28, 2015 – Ford Motor Company [NYSE: Ford] today reported its 2015 second quarter financial results. View the press release here and visit shareholder.ford.com to view the slide presentation and access the webcast to Ford's second quarter earnings call, which begins at 9 a.m. EDT with Mark Fields, president and chief executive officer, and Bob Shanks, executive vice president and chief financial officer. Highlights Include: Outstanding second quarter; company on track for a breakthrough year Pre-tax profit of $2.9B, up $269M or 10 percent from a year ago excluding last year's special item charges Net income of $1.9B, up $574M or 44 percent from a year ago After-tax earnings per share of 47 cents, up 7 cents from a year ago excluding last year's special item charges Best Automotive quarterly profit since 2000 Wholesale volume up 2 percent, driven by North America and Europe Automotive revenue about equal, with higher net pricing and volume offset by unfavorable translation effects of the strong U.S.