Will Canadians ever buy “small” trucks again?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As my Wheels colleague, Jill McIntosh, has written in her review of the updated-for-2012 Toyota Tacoma, Canadians love trucks—but not unless they are of the full-size nature.

You are probably well aware that the long-reigning best-selling new vehicle in Canada is the Ford F Series. But did you know that including the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra twins, the Ram (nee Dodge) 1500, and the less-popular Toyota Tundra and Nissan Titan, 193,694 full-size pickups have been sold though to the end of September this year, here in Canada*.

Now, contrast that number to the not-a-full-size truck segment, of which only 26,723 have been moved in the first nine months of this year. Sales of the abovementioned Tacoma (5,489), Ford Ranger (12,985), Chevy Colorado (2.039), GMC Canyon (1,759), Dodge Dakota (1,331), Nissan Frontier (2,022) and Honda Ridgeline (1,098), are miniscule compared to their big brother numbers.  And with the departure for 2012 of the Ranger and Dakota, those numbers will likely drop as well.

Despite these less-than-stellar sales figures, though, there lies some optimism (perhaps driven by future stricter fuel economy regs) in small trucks.

GM is replacing its mid-sizers for 2013 with an all-new Chevy Colorado, already launched in Thailand (above.) While Dodge is (apparently) working on a minivan-based Dakota replacement, similar in concept to the Ridgeline.

Yet, unless the automakers remove the existing incentive money from the hoods of their full-size models, it’s hard to see why buyers would go for the smaller trucks.

For example, a brief look at the Dakota’s spec sheet is all the evidence new truck buyers need to understand why it’s being canned. It can’t carry or tow as much as the full-size Ram, and its cabin is smaller. That’s obvious. But the Ram’s price doesn’t reflect its deficiencies: A base Dakota starts at $29,495—thousands more than a $21,570 Ram 1500.

So despite their continuing existence in showrooms, do you think Canadians will ever cotton to smaller tucks?

Or, eventually, will cheap, full-size pickups simply be the only choice truck buyers will have?

* Source: Automotive News Data Center and Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada and company sources

Comments

[DJL]

Canadians used to "cotton" to smaller trucks; back when you could actually buy one for less than the price of a full sized pickup. But then small trucks became fashionable, and the prices started climbing. Unfortunately for the car companies they aren't fashionable anymore and most buyers don't see the point in paying more for less. If automakers stripped them back to basics (think the original Dodge D-50) and dropped the price they might start to make a comeback. But I really can't see Detroit moving in that direction. As you've mentioned Detroit pretty much dominates the full sized pickup market so I don't think they'll see much point in creating a cheap, small truck product given that 'small and cheap' is where the imports tend to dominate. Maybe with the rising price of gas one of the Asian manufacturers will decide it makes sense to offer a small, cheap pickup for people who don't really need the capacity of a full sized pickup and want to save on gas. Maybe Mazda will bring back the B2000 - but I'm not going to hold my breath.

[ChrisG]

A big problem for me is the insistence of the manufacturers to put big 6 cyl. engines in these smaller trucks. Yes, I know that the advertising says that they all have these fuel efficient 4 cyl. units, but they are incredibly hard to find on the ground. The Ranger is really bad for this. The Canyon/Colorado have some good options, but, again, finding a solid 4x2 with the 4 cylinder engine is a challenge. The Dakota is a great truck, but it is a thirsty beast, so why wouldn't you pay less and get a full-sized vehicle, if you're going to pay the same for fuel? I do hope that some manufacturer come out with a smaller pickup, with a small-displacement diesel. That would sell very well, indeed, up here.

[Handy]

It's doubtful you'll see any 'small and cheap' pickups because there is no profit to be made by the manufacturer. Engineering and design costs are still high even if a truck is made with less options and lower trim levels, meaning the markup on a truck like this is almost nothing. The same goes for compact cars, but they sell in high enough quantities that they can be somewhat profitable. Small trucks, on the other hand, probably won't sell in high enough volumes to make it worthwhile. Notice the only real players left in this market are trucks like the Tacoma and Ridgeline that come more well-equipped and at higher price points.

And @DJL, it's unlikely the Mazda B2000 will be brought back as that was just a rebadged Ford Ranger, which is now defunct.

[CGS cat back exhaust]

I think they should. Canada has everything it needs to even build up their own car manufacturing company.