The results are in for 2026 Q1 truck sales and it is a sea of red figures with just a few trucks posting sales gains.
Full-size trucks saw a bad quarter of sales overall, while the midsize truck market is a mixed bag, with every other truck trending down.
Off to a Rocky Start
The truck market is certainly in a battle right now fighting inflation, tariff costs and now higher fuel prices at the pump. This has resulted in cooling sales as consumers hold off waiting to see if the environment will improve.
This tracks with last year’s changes where we had multi-million dollar losses for automakers related to tariffs, supply concerns over semi-conductor chips and rare-earth metals, UAW strikes in non-traditional plants like VW and more.
Then, came the EV tax credit ending which saw the end of the Ford F-150 Lightning and $20 billion loss from Ford Motor Company alone.
The tax credit also slowed production at GM, caused the all-electric Ram REV to die and be replaced with Ram Ramcharger EREV which took the REV name (did you follow that?) and also has Ford looking at a EREV.
Ford had a heck of a year last year which also got hit by a massive aluminum supplier fire, set a record with 152 recalls but said “quality is improving,” according to a CBT story, still plans to launch a $30k midsize EV truck and announced it plans to get involved in racing, like really, really involved.
These are all reasons why the F-Series (F-150, 250, 350 and 450) posted a sales drop.
GM weathered its storms of issues with the 10-speed transmission woes, the 6.2L recall and the 3.0L Duramax diesel thrust bearing issue to post a mostly flat quarter.
Meanwhile, Ram Trucks brought the team back together at SRT, relaunched the Hemi V8 and the TRX and brought out several packages aimed at offering trucks at lower price points. Oh and they also introduced a 10-year, 100,000 mile warranty for 2025 then extended it again for 2026 models defying the critics who said it was a sales gimmick that wouldn’t last.
This helped Ram Trucks post a sales increase for the first time since 2023 in quarter 1.
The Toyota Tundra is still battling ongoing 3.4L V6 engine recalls and as you’ll see below, you have to wonder if these recalls are finally causing consumers to shop around. With that said, Consumer Reports stated quality is better on the full-size truck and Toyota is back in its good graces as the most reliable brand.
For its smaller truck, the Tacoma, it set an all-time sales record last year and is off to an amazing start in 2026. Guess people don’t mind it is only built in Mexico these days and only comes with a turbocharged engine.
The Chevy Colorado held onto the 2nd spot even with a sizable sales decrease, Nissan continues to lean on the Frontier’s V6 engine to grow sales, the Ford Ranger and GMC Canyon posted nice gains, while the Gladiator and Honda Ridgeline round out the list.
For the compact truck sales, the Ford Maverick remains the biggest hit in the past several years and it is still stunning nobody else besides Hyundai has launched a pickup in this segment.
Then, the electric trucks round out the results. They all are struggling and have been for many years with the no upside in sight.
2026 Q1 Truck Sales results
Here are the figures for the first quarter.
| 2026 Q1 Pickup Sales | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full-Size Truck Sales | Q1 Sales | Last Year Q1 Sales | Quarterly % Change | Year-to-Date | Last Year-to-Date | Year-over-Year % Change |
| Ford F-Series | 159,901 | 190,389 | -16.0 | 159,901 | 190,389 | -16.0 |
| Chevy Silverado | 126,139 | 125,298 | 0.7 | 126,139 | 125,298 | 0.7 |
| LD | 84,401 | 78,199 | 7.9 | 84,401 | 78,199 | 7.9 |
| HD | 41,738 | 47,099 | -11.4 | 41,738 | 47,099 | -11.4 |
| Ram Truck | 98,425 | 78,848 | 24.8 | 98,425 | 78,848 | 24.8 |
| Ram LD | 59,828 | 47,067 | 27.1 | 59,828 | 47,067 | 27.1 |
| Ram HD | 38,597 | 31,781 | 21.4 | 38,597 | 31,781 | 21.4 |
| GMC Sierra | 74,319 | 77,292 | -3.8 | 74,319 | 77,292 | -3.8 |
| LD | 51,857 | 52,891 | -2.0 | 51,857 | 52,891 | -2.0 |
| HD | 22,462 | 24,401 | -7.9 | 22,462 | 24,401 | -7.9 |
| Toyota Tundra | 34,616 | 35,550 | -2.6 | 34,616 | 35,550 | -2.6 |
| Nissan Titan | 10 | 1,556 | -99.4 | 10 | 1,556 | -99.4 |
| Midsize Truck Sales | Q1 Sales | Last Year Q1 Sales | Quarterly % Change | Year-to-Date | Last Year-to-Date | Year-over-Year % Change |
| Toyota Tacoma | 69,263 | 59,825 | 15.8 | 69,263 | 59,825 | 15.8 |
| Chevrolet Colorado | 21,596 | 25,856 | -16.5 | 21,596 | 25,856 | -16.5 |
| Nissan Frontier | 21,411 | 14,481 | 47.9 | 21,411 | 14,481 | 47.9 |
| Ford Ranger | 17,775 | 14,913 | 19.2 | 17,775 | 14,913 | 19.2 |
| GMC Canyon | 11,027 | 9,096 | 21.2 | 11,027 | 9,096 | 21.2 |
| Jeep Gladiator | 10,087 | 12,057 | -16.3</span) | 10,087 | 12,057 | -16.3</span) |
| Honda Ridgeline | 10,980 | 10,951 | 0.3 | 10,980 | 10,951 | 0.3 |
| Compact Pickup Sales | Q1 Sales | Last Year Q1 Sales | Quarterly % Change | Year-to-Date | Last Year-to-Date | Year-over-Year % Change |
| Ford Maverick | 33,861 | 38,015 | -10.9 | 33,861 | 38,015 | -10.9 |
| Hyundai Santa Cruz | 4,544 | 6,648 | -31.6 | 4,544 | 6,648 | -31.6 |
| EV Truck Sales | Q1 Sales | Last Year Q1 Sales | Quarterly % Change | Year-to-Date | Last Year-to-Date | Year-over-Year % Change |
| Rivian – R1T, R1S, Van | 10,365 | 13,588 | -23.7 | 10,365 | 13,588 | -23.7 |
| Tesla Cybertruck (Estimated) | 16,000 | 15,700 | 1.9 | 16,000 | 15,700 | 1.9 |
| Ford Lightning | 2,060 | 7,187 | -71.3 | 2,060 | 7,187 | -71.3 |
| Chevrolet Silverado EV | 1,406 | 2,383 | -41.0</span) | 1,406 | 2,383 | -41.0</span) |
| GMC Hummer EV (Pickup and SUV) | 1,653 | 3,479 | -52.5 | 1,653 | 3,479 | -52.5 |
| GMC Sierra EV | 1,288 | 1,249 | 3.1 | 1,288 | 1,249 | 3.1 |
The post 2026 Q1 Truck Sales: Ram Turns It Around, Midsize Truck Battle, Lots of Red Figures appeared first on Pickup Truck +SUV Talk.
