Ram has carved out a massive slice of the US pick-up segment in Australia over the past six years, but the market leader is now under serious threat from Chevrolet – and Ford is gearing up to join the battle.
A showdown is looming between the two heavyweights of the US pick-up market in Australia – Ram and Chevrolet – and if sales so far this year are any indication, we are about to see a changing of the guard.
Ram has consistently outsold Chevrolet in Australia – at times outselling its rival by more than two-to-one.
But that is destined to change after a strong surge from Chevrolet this year, which is on track to shatter its previous record results in Australia.
How close is the battle between Ram and Chevrolet in Australia?
Just two sales separated deliveries of the Ram 1500 and Chevrolet 1500 in the month of May (207 versus 205 sales, according to official data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries).
It is the closest these two nameplates have ever been in the Australian sales race.
However, Chevrolet gave Ram a black eye for the past two months in a row – in April and May – after selling more US pick-ups when all variants are combined.
According to the scoreboard, Chevrolet sold 342 vehicles across the entire Silverado 1500 and 2500 portfolio in April, versus Ram’s total tally of 324 across all its variants (1500, 2500 and 3500).
Chevrolet backed it up in May after delivering 332 pick-ups in total, versus the Ram Trucks Australia tally of 273 for the month.
The year-to-date battle is now the closest it has ever been between these two: Ram 1637 deliveries year-to-date (down 45 per cent compared to the same period last year), versus Chevrolet’s pick-up tally of 1519 (up 33 per cent) from the start of January through to the end of May.
If sales for both brands continue on their current trajectory, Chevrolet will topple Ram for the first time in Australia in the year-to-date sales race – at the end of this month.
Ram Trucks Australia is pulling out all stops and has introduced a low interest rate finance offer, however the high price of Ram pick-ups out of the US means the local distributor is fighting Chevrolet with one arm tied behind its back.
Waiting in the wings is the Ford F-150 (pictured above at Ford’s remanufacturing facility in Melbourne), which has gotten off to a slow start after a few technical gremlins and paperwork errors in its start-up phase.
As it stands, the Ford F-150 has temporarily been taken down from the Ford Australia website – and dealers have been advised to stop selling and stop delivering the vehicle – until all minor modifications are made to meet Australian regulations.
Ford F-150 vehicles that have already been delivered to Australian customers can still be driven as there are no safety issues.
The Ford F150 is expected to be back online within weeks, which will relaunch a third contender in the US pick-up battle for the rest of this year.
Meanwhile, the Toyota Tundra (pictured above and below) remains under evaluation in Australia.
The first 300 vehicles are in customer hands as the company does some final validation work in the real world, before giving the project the green light.
If all goes to plan, the Toyota Tundra is expected to become a part of the Toyota Australia showroom line-up some time next year.
Meantime, here is a rundown of the ding-dong sales battle between Ram and Chevrolet so far this year, and over the past six years.
| Ram | Chevrolet | Ford | |
| January 2024 | |||
| 1500 models | 290 | 193 | 123 |
| HD models | 50 | 71 | |
| Total | 340 | 264 | 123 |
| February 2024 | |||
| 1500 models | 283 | 171 | 255 |
| HD models | 42 | 101 | |
| Total | 325 | 272 | 255 |
| March 2024 | |||
| 1500 models | 313 | 184 | 238 |
| HD models | 62 | 125 | |
| Total | 375 | 309 | 238 |
| April 2024 | |||
| 1500 models | 276 | 191 | 173 |
| HD models | 48 | 151 | |
| Total | 324 | 342 | 173 |
| May 2024 | |||
| 1500 models | 207 | 205 | 39 |
| HD models | 66 | 127 | |
| Total | 273 | 332 | 39 |
Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
Joshua Dowling has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years, most of that time with Fairfax (The Sydney Morning Herald), News Corp Australia (Herald Sun and News.com.au), and most recently Drive.com.au (owned by Nine Media). He is also a World Car of the Year judge, has won numerous journalism awards, and test drives up to 200 cars per year.
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