On the "Final Assembly" page of this week's print edition of Automotive News is a short piece that notes that FCA sold more light trucks last month than either Ford or General Motors.
![Silhouettes of Ram ProMaster and Ram Pickup]()
By the published reports, this is true for the month. General Motors still maintains the lead for the year, but FCA is outselling Ford by both metrics.
In the uncredited piece, Automotive News attributes the results to creative accounting and the EPA's loose definition of what constitutes a "light truck." Their example is the Mini Countryman, which is considered a light truck, while the Mini Cooper is a car.
That would have been more of an issue in the days of the Chrysler PT Cruiser and Ford Taurus X, but there really aren't any such cars in the Detroit automakers' current lineups.
The true uncertainty is at the other end of the range. Ford's monthly sales report includes heavy trucks - the F-650 and F-750 - which are discarded in most sales analyses, including the table above.
However, there is still room for a bit of fudging in the F-Series category. While it's likely that the F-450 pickup is counted in "F-Series" total, as Ford claims it's a Class 3 truck, does that tally also include the F-450 chassis-cab, which is a Class 4 truck, and the F-550?
FCA sales reports list only the Ram Pickup, but Allpar has been told that the Ram tally does include chassis-cabs, leaving the door open for the 4400 and 5500.
For now, the numbers reported are good enough. FCA is not only Number 1 in utilities; it's Number 1 in light trucks as a whole, too.
By the published reports, this is true for the month. General Motors still maintains the lead for the year, but FCA is outselling Ford by both metrics.
| LIGHT TRUCK SALES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manufacturer | March | Growth | Year to Date | Growth |
| FCA US | 178,407 | 23% | 452,475 | 23% |
| Ford | 177,514 | 12% | 449,392 | 12% |
| General Motors | 177,458 | 6% | 471,443 | 2% |
In the uncredited piece, Automotive News attributes the results to creative accounting and the EPA's loose definition of what constitutes a "light truck." Their example is the Mini Countryman, which is considered a light truck, while the Mini Cooper is a car.
That would have been more of an issue in the days of the Chrysler PT Cruiser and Ford Taurus X, but there really aren't any such cars in the Detroit automakers' current lineups.
The true uncertainty is at the other end of the range. Ford's monthly sales report includes heavy trucks - the F-650 and F-750 - which are discarded in most sales analyses, including the table above.
However, there is still room for a bit of fudging in the F-Series category. While it's likely that the F-450 pickup is counted in "F-Series" total, as Ford claims it's a Class 3 truck, does that tally also include the F-450 chassis-cab, which is a Class 4 truck, and the F-550?
FCA sales reports list only the Ram Pickup, but Allpar has been told that the Ram tally does include chassis-cabs, leaving the door open for the 4400 and 5500.
For now, the numbers reported are good enough. FCA is not only Number 1 in utilities; it's Number 1 in light trucks as a whole, too.
