The automotive industry is all about trends. Buyers doing more of this, buying more of that. One such trend is the interest consumers are taking in fully-loaded, highly luxurious full-size pickups.
They used to be tools used on the job site to haul dirty, muddy, heavy stuff around. Now, pickups are daily drivers and are packed with the latest connectivity, luxury, and safety features. They are premium, upscale vehicles with a box in the back, and other luxury segments, like sedans, are losing out.
We’re not all that surprised that luxury sedans are losing out to trucks, to be honest. Sedans as a whole have lost loads of ground to crossovers so this news is part of the trend.
Two elements, as far as we’re concerned, are driving this move. The first is that, at one point in time, luxury features were limited to flagship luxury cars from luxury brands. This is nowhere near the case anymore. The other is the fact that full-size pickups have never been better designed and built. Or luxurious.
We’re actually test driving a 2019 RAM 1500 Sport this week. In Canada, it’s the third in a lineup that consists of seven total trims. Despite that, our truck retails for just over $70k and features leather everywhere, navigation, heated/cooled and power front seats, heated steering wheel, power running board, 22-inch wheels, adaptive cruise control, Uconnect with 8.4-inch touchscreen, and on and on!
With luxury sedans no longer holding any secrets, consumers are exploring various other possibilities to get the amenities they want. Loaded crossovers are booming, as are high-end pickups. This explains why far fewer big-ticket sedans are leaving dealer lots.
The “Big Three” have become victims of their own success as demand for these monster luxury trucks is surging. In reality, there’s no issue. A loaded Cadillac CT6 Platinum for $100k or a loaded 2019 GMC Sierra Denali for $90k? In this scenario, GM’s making more money with the truck.
The only downside is that the trucks consume more fuel than an equivalent sedan. We’re thinking buyers are not too concerned about it…
