After years of being in the dark, the new Ford Ranger has finally arrived and it’s starting to turn more heads than the Toyota Tacoma and Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon would like.
The Ranger is revamped, while its competitors in the midsize truck segment are aging and date as far back as 2014 with no major upgrades in sight until 2021.
But the competition is not too bothered.
Mark Alger, National Marketing Manager of GMC Canada, talked about the status of their trucks and the segment that’s starting to become crowded.
“We know our two midsize trucks are showing age, but then again, is the Ford Ranger really all that new? From our point of view, it’s not newer than our trucks,” he said. “(Jeep) Gladiator is a cool one, there’s no doubt, but it’s also significantly more expensive than ours and fills a different niche. The same applies for (Honda) Ridgeline. We’re in a good spot with Canyon/Colorado. We’re not too worried of our current competition.”
Alger isn’t wrong, though, as the sales figures of the Colorado/Canyon show a combined 180,000 units sold in the United States and Canada in 2018, with only the Toyota Tacoma surpassing the numbers.
However, Canyon sales are also dropping faster than the segment as seen in its 2019 sales figures. The model fell by almost 4 percent while the segment as a whole grew by almost 14 percent. And despite performing well in Canada, the Canyon is not on par with the Colorado in the United States.
The 2020 versions of both Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon are slated for upgrades in 2021 where the mid-size trucks are likely to see a separation from manual transmissions. The current models have six-speed manual transmissions offered on the base and work truck trim levels.
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