Sales of pickup trucks in the United States have bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, according to Detroit News.
Ford, Chevrolet, GMC, and Ram dominate the U.S. truck market, and pickups have led a “broad recovery of autos” since the sales dip in March. After falling by one-fourth the week of March 29, truck sales rebounded quickly. As of May 3 about 489,000 light duty trucks have been sold this year. This is just 1 percent off pre-virus forecasts of 505,000, according to the article.
According to J.D. Power, overall retail sales have been on the upswing for five weeks, with sales off only 38 percent last week from predicted pre-virus level. However, the demand has eaten into truck inventory levels, which are now half their normal levels with products idled across North America. When plants of Detroit automakers begin reopening May 18, automakers say their first priority is to rebuild supplies of those trucks.
To accelerate truck sales, manufacturers have offered zero percent financing, and seven year loan terms to move their most profitable trucks. Sales have boosted average transaction prices to a near-record $35,700. Automakers will be prioritizing truck production as their plants come back online.
