GM Says Ram’s Impressive Q1 Truck Sales Deserve an Asterisk
Earlier this month, we reported that for the first time in recent memory there had been a shakeup in full-size truck sales. The Ford F-series was still the top seller for the quarter, but instead of Chevrolet, it was Ram that took second. That was a huge accomplishment for Ram, but if you ask General Motors, it isn’t as meaningful as it may appear.
Speaking to the Detroit Free Press, a GM spokesperson said, “the Ram pickup’s first-quarter sales victory over Silverado amounted to a hollow chocolate Easter bunny because FCA has been pulling out all stops to win sales.”
In addition to pushing low-mileage, short-term leases for employees and families in the Detroit area, GM says FCA paid dealers $8,500 bonuses to put Ram Classics in their loaner fleets. FCA also reportedly offered as much as $18,000 in incentives to sell Ram Classics in certain regions. The Classic is the previous-generation Ram 1500 that’s still sold alongside the redesigned version.
Disappointingly, FCA’s response lacked a similar spring theme. “FCA is committed to providing competitive products at competitive prices in the marketplace. Our incentives constantly change, and vehicle prices can vary by dealership,” a spokesperson told the Detroit Free Press.
The way Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Autotrader, sees it, the two automakers have simply adopted different strategies for sales success. “The fact of the matter is Ram beat Chevy Silverado, period. That’s part of their strategy,” she told the Detroit Free Press. “GM is focused on profits and has been very restrained on incentives. Ram has been aggressive on incentives. And why not? There’s good money to be made. General Motors has used the same tricks in the past. They’ve all done this at one time or another.”
But as Krebs pointed out, we’ll soon be able to compare Ram and Chevrolet with a different metric, saying, “We’ll see how it comes out in wash when quarterly profits come in.”
Source: The Detroit Free Press
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